On a new episode of his Scottish culture podcast Simply Scottish, Andrew McDiarmid pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II by exploring her enduring ties to Scotland and the Scottish people.
Although many Scots are critical or ambivalent about the monarchy as an institution, there’s still much good will toward Queen Elizabeth II from the people of Scotland. “…you very rarely hear them criticizing Elizabeth II,” says Professor Sir Tom Devine of Edinburgh University, one of Scotland’s pre-eminent historians. “I think she’s probably been the most significant and influential British monarch since the union of 1707.” A Yougov poll published earlier this year found 75% of Scots think the Queen did a good job in her role, compared to 84% in the UK as a whole.
And the feeling is mutual. Queen Elizabeth was known to comment quite often on her and her family’s love for Scotland and the Scottish people. Addressing the Scottish Parliament in 2021, the Queen said: “I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country. It is the people that make a place and there are few places where this is truer than Scotland.”
In the episode, Andrew looks at one of the queen’s favorite places on earth – Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. It has been a retreat for the royal family since the days of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. As Victoria recorded in her diary: “All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.” Queen Elizabeth II also cherished the estate, spending almost every summer at Balmoral and calling it her “paradise in the highlands.” A typical day at Balmoral included walks, horse rides, picnics, lots of dogs, and people coming in and out all the time. Here was a place where the queen and her family could just be themselves a bit more. Indeed, during a visit to Balmoral in 1998, former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie said that Prince Philip was stationed at the BBQ grill and the Queen washed the dinner dishes herself.
Learn more about the queen’s ties to Scotland and enjoy some great Scottish music! Listen to the full episode below:
Andrew McDiarmid 
Dear Andrew McDiarmid,
What a lovely remembrance you have composed here regarding Queen Elizabeth II by reference to her ties with Scotland and the Scottish people!
My post entitled “🌤️🌾 A September to Remember: Greeting Post-Pandemic and Post-Elizabethan Age 👑🏰 with Sapphires, Asters, Poems and Songs 💎🌼📜🎶” also mentions and features the late Queen Elizabeth II in a special way, plus my putting two of her photos in special frames, which you will be able to see there. For your convenience, the link is:
https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2022/09/30/a-september-to-remember-greeting-post-pandemic-and-post-elizabethan-age-with-sapphires-asters-poems-and-songs/
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Andrew,
A newer but related post also has interesting backgrounds as follows, insofar as I have finally had the chance to publish something much lesser known about Her Majesty in a special post entitled “Pondering Musical Lineage on the Queen’s Birthday“, available at
https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2022/10/03/pondering-musical-lineage-on-the-queens-birthday/
Like your post here, this particular post of mine also mentions Queen Victoria. In addition, please turn on your finest speakers or headphones, as the multimedia post will be playing my music to you automatically for about three and a half minutes. In this post, I have also revealed my musical connections to both the late Queen Elizabeth II and the composer Sir Edward Elgar. I have dedicated one of my compositions to Queen Elizabeth II. You can find out which one in this said post.
Once again, thank you for publishing this lovely tribute.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing this!
LikeLiked by 1 person