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The Queen is game for a laugh at Scottish country event

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3 SEPTEMBER 2007

No one knows whether it was the tug-of-war or the caber toss, but something had the Queen in fits of giggles as she watched the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland. Her face a picture of mirth, she leant over to share the joke with Prince Phillip, and other guests in the royal box.

Handing over a trophy in her capacity as patron of the annual Aberdeenshire tournament, the monarch was still in a sunny mood. The royal matriarch was awarding the silverware to Bruce Aitken, who won the competition's top honour for the ninth year in a row.

A visit to the gathering in the picturesque village of Braemar is a long-standing tradition for the royal couple, coinciding as it does with their summer break. Reflecting the Scottish setting, the Duke of Edinburgh wore a kilt as he and his spouse joined 17,000 spectators to watch time-honoured events such as the hammer throw and listen to the Inverurie Pipe Band.