King Charles starts his day to sound of bagpipes

The dulcet tones of bagpipes may not be everyone’s idea of a perfect awakening, but for King Charles it is part of a centuries-old morning ritual.

Every day at 09:00 a lone piper plays a selection of songs below the monarch’s window for 15 minutes, wherever they are in residence.

The practice began with Queen Victoria 179 years ago, with 17 pipers to date.

The current piper to the sovereign, Pipe Major Paul Burns, played for the first time at Clarence House on Monday.

In a video released by Buckingham Palace, the military musician from the Royal Regiment of Scotland is seen in full highland regalia, marching the grounds of Clarence House as he played his distinctive tones.

The piper’s daily performance is split into two sessions of seven minutes, separated by a minute in between to adjust and tune the traditional Scottish instrument.

As part of the prestigious role, often considered one of the most coveted in the piping world, the piper is also the only non-royal permitted to wear Balmoral tartan.

The job is not just limited to playing of the bagpipes, with the piper often responsible for meeting and greeting people before they met the monarch at a variety of official engagements.

And of course Major Burns gained worldwide attention last month when he played the lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep to mark the moment that Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin left Westminster Abbey at the end of her funeral.

The origins of the role – and the daily unconventional alarm clock – date back to the reign of Queen Victoria, who created the role in 1843.

The piper – all men to date – becomes a member of the royal household, with quarters at Buckingham Palace, but travels to wherever the monarch is based at any particular time.

One former occupant of the role, Pipe Major Scott Methven, described himself as having been “thrust into the inner circle of the monarchy” when he took up the job.

He previously said the Queen assured him she loved listening to the bagpipes each morning, as well as anointing him with the nickname “Pipes” during his four years in the role between 2015 and 2019.

After her death, Pipe Major Methven remembered the late-monarch for her quick wit and their strong personal bond.

He told the BBC it was a “pleasure as her Majesty would stand and watch you play”, recalling a visit to Windsor for Royal Ascot week, where he accidentally called the Queen “Your Royal Highness”.

“I said ‘I do beg your pardon, good afternoon Your Majesty’ and she grabbed me by the arm and said ‘Pipes, it has been 60 years since somebody called me Your Royal Highness and I quite liked it’,” Pipe Major Methven recalled.

As his successor Major Burns continues in the role, it is unclear how often his daily performance will be waking a monarch from his slumbers. A number of newspaper profiles of King Charles, written during his time as the Prince of Wales, established that he was an early riser who liked to start his royal duties before 09:00.