30 December 2023 , 23:01
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King Charles III and Queen Camilla are set to carry out some very specific traditions in their Highland Hogmanay plans for New Year.
The duo have headed to Birkhall since 2004, the first time the duo stayed there on a romantic trip where the at-the-time Prince Charles took Camilla to propose marriage. Now, 19 years later, the duo is set to head off there again to ring in the bells of New Year. After a Christmas feast at Sandringham with other members of the Royal Family, the presiding monarch is set to journey up to Scotland where he will spend the first hours of 2024 with Queen Camilla.
It appears tradition has survived long after the ascension of King Charles III, who is dead set on the Birkhall New Year traditions he laid out almost 20 years ago. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, would remain at Sandringham until early February to commemorate the death of her father King George VI.
New plans are in place for King Charles III though, who is set to enjoy an informal and relaxed time at Birkhall, the Daily Mail reported. It will not mark the first time the King and Queen has attended Birkhall in the New Year, and other family members have accompanied the duo on their trip.
The King and Queen are set to celebrate New Years as they usually do, a quiet night in Scotland (PA)Prince William and Kate Middleton made a notable appearance during Hogmanay 2009 where it was believed Charles' son would pop the question in similar fashion, but the Prince opted against it and waited another 10 months. It is believed Prince William and Prince Harry avoided Birkhall as the crowd of attendees, including Sir Nicholas Soames and Annabel Elliot, a sister of Camilla, are frequent guests. Harry and William avoid the party as it is "very much Charles and Camilla's set" of close friends.
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King Charles proposed to Queen Camilla at Birkhall back in 2004 (Clarence House via Getty Images)An insider claimed Charles would "pull out all the stops for his party, which will probably go on into the early hours of the morning". The King is believed to have once said: "At Balmoral there's a lot of dancing, and at Birkhall there's a lot of drinking." A further claim of banning fireworks has since been made as the King cannot stand to scare the prize-winning ducks residing on the same estate. It is also due to the low-key nature of the party, which holds an elusive and exclusive guestlist.
The late first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Rhodes, once spoke of the evenings at Birkhall for Hogmanay. She said: "At the end of the meal she would start a series of toasts. As well as "Hooray for" with glasses held high, there was even more of "Down with", with glasses almost disappearing beneath the table. Combined with the nostalgic sing-songs, [it] always made for an unforgettable evening." It would appear those traditions are set to continue.
A celebration in 2006 at Birkhall included a quick tipple of a 50-year-old malt whisky while Charles' two professional chefs prepard a grand dinner including Highland cattle steak, gamebirds shot near the river dee, mushrooms grown by Charles and some locally caught salmon.