Queen Victoria and Prince Albert paid their first visit to the Highlands in 1842 and they stayed at Taymouth Castle with the Marquis of Breadalbane. Nevertheless, the patronage conferred on the office of piper did provide a focus for efforts to preserve the music, and the early men chosen for the office played a prominent part in publishing and promoting it. Once the threat of a Stuart revival was removed, members of the Royal family were pleased to adopt some of the more colourful symbols of the Highlanders, such as their dress and their music, although they did not fully appreciate the underlying culture and did little to protect it from the impact of social changes which broke up communities and destroyed their pattern of life. McKay we explore more fully the history of this prestigious office вЂ¦

In this first excerpt from an article by Neville T. Queen VictoriaвЂ™s other inspired decision with regard to the great pipe was to appoint a SovereignвЂ™s Piper. It is perhaps fitting in this, the 100th anniversary of her death, that we should remind pipers and drummer everywhere of the legacy of that decision: the formation of the pipe band as we know it today. вЂњThe pipes must lead.вЂќ So stated Queen Victoria to her Army top brass in the 1870s, thus ending an unseemly squabble over whether pipes or drums should form the front or rear ranks in the newly formed musical ensemble known as the pipe band.

Picture of mackay bagpipe player