Pipe Major Scott Methven, who was the Queen’s piper until 2019, recalled the ‘jokes’ he had with the ‘easygoing and funny’ monarch during her tenure as four years.
The 48-year-old described being transferred from the army in 2015 to live at Buckingham Palace as “surreal”, but said he had forged a “great relationship” with the Queen.
He said: “She really had a quick wit, as is well documented. It was just always lines, I had so many jokes with the queen, it was awesome.
“The first time I was nominated she turned around and said, ‘Look, the only reason you got this job is because you’re the same height as me’. then she just left.
The professional piper recalled accidentally calling the Queen Your Royal Highness at Windsor instead of Her Majesty during Royal Ascot week.
The 48-year-old described being transferred from the army in 2015 to live at Buckingham Palace as “surreal”, but said he had forged a “great relationship” with the Queen.
“I didn’t expect that from the Queen if that makes sense. She put the bar on so I carried on and we just used to laugh. She was simply the easiest person to work for.
Mr Methven, who performed at Sting’s 60th birthday party in New York alongside celebrity guests including Stevie Wonder, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr and Lady Gaga, said he used to ” laugh” with the royal family at Balmoral.
He said: ‘I remember one night it was just the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and several other family members. The guests hadn’t arrived so I said I was going to mix it up and did some bagpipe movies.
“I would go around the tables and it would be like Top Gun and the Prince of Wales (now King Charles) asked me if I could do AC/DC Thunderstruck.
“At Balmoral it was so much fun, the Duke trying to trip me, take his foot out and things like that, things that people wouldn’t expect.
“I think that’s one thing I loved about the Queen, she was so easy going and funny.”
“I remember King Charles III pulling me aside and he said, ‘Can I just say, every time I see you with mum, you make her really happy, please , keep doing what you are doing. “It was just a great relationship. She made you feel like she was just your grandma’
The professional piper recalled accidentally calling the Queen Your Royal Highness at Windsor during Royal Ascot week.
He said: “She never missed a beat. She just looked to the right. I said ‘I beg your pardon, good morning Your Majesty’ and she grabbed me by the arm and said ‘Pipes, it’s been 60 years since someone called me Your Royal Highness and I liked that.’
“It was awesome and she was laughing.
“I remember King Charles III pulling me aside and he said, ‘Can I just say, every time I see you with mum, you make her really happy, please , keep doing what you are doing.
“It was just a great relationship. She made you feel like she was just your grandmother.
During his tenure as Queen’s Piper, Mr Methven lost his mother and wife to terminal illnesses as well as his father within the space of eight months.
Before his wife’s death, Mr Methven recalled: ‘I was with the Queen and she said ‘If you’re not there in the morning and you’re not playing the bagpipes, then I know you’re absent. Don’t wait to ask anyone, go home if your family needs you because it’s family first.
“She grabbed my arm again and said ‘you know Pipes, if anyone has a problem with this tell them I said it was okay to go.
‘That’s the kind of person she was. She was the best employer I have ever had, just fantastic.
She didn’t make you feel like she was your boss. We are talking about the most famous women of the last century and she was just a great person.
Mr Methven, who was the Queen’s 15th piper since 1873, said he called ‘in the know’ at the palace to check the Queen was ok after seeing the ‘frail’ photos of the monarch clutching the hand of new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday.
He said he ‘had an idea something was not quite right’ and was waiting at the airport in Naples, Italy, when he heard the news of the Queen’s death.
He said: “I was devastated. It was my daughter who called me and she was crying. As my daughter said, I felt like she (the queen) was the only one who cared about our family.
‘She was the one who said I could leave my children at Balmoral Castle,’ she said, ‘go sit in the hospital with your wife.
“I was devastated, I feel like I’ve lost a member of my family. The Queen had invited me on September 22 to stay and attend the next Ghillies Ball, so I was going up in a few weeks.
“I have spoken to the Queen more over this four and a half year period in any given week in person than to my own wife.
“I only saw my wife at weekends, I was in London Monday to Friday and the Queen was the woman I saw the most, every day. She was just a wonderful person.
“It’s the human side of things that I don’t think people would actually believe, how much she really cared, and nothing was too much trouble.
“I think she cared more about other people than herself and that’s something to say about anyone.”
On Sunday, the Queen’s oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a Balmoral wreath on top, began its six-hour journey to Edinburgh.
It was played from the Balmoral Estate by the current Queen’s Piper, Piper Paul Burns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Mr Methven added: ‘I spoke to the Queen’s Piper last night to give advice and was happy to give it, it’s good people are still contacting you but everyone is obviously devastated.’
“He played in the ballroom, the six ghillies carried the coffin and he will play at St Giles tomorrow.
“He will be the Piper playing the service in London and also when Her Majesty visits Windsor Castle in the chapel he will also play the bagpipes for that.
“So he’ll be very front and center for that. Piper Paul Burns is an awesome piper and a good man, he’ll do a fantastic job.
