King meets 99-year-old D-Day veteran at Gordon Highlanders Museum

The King has met with a 99-year-old D-Day veteran in Aberdeen, praising him as a "great example to us all" as he toured the Gordon Highlanders Museum.

The museum celebrates the story of the British regiment originally raised by the 5th Duke of Gordon in 1784.

As the Duke of Rothesay, Charles was appointed colonel in chief of the regiment in 1978 and remained so until its amalgamation with the Queen's Own Highlanders in 1994.

During his visit, the King spoke to former soldiers in the regiment, including 99-year-old Jim Glennie who continues to volunteer at the museum.

Mr Glennie was part of the invasion force which landed at Sword Beach on D-Day at just 18-years-old.

He was later wounded in action and taken prisoner, spending the remainder of the war in Stalag IV-B.

He and other soldiers made their own way back to Allied lines when their German guards deserted them as the Russians approached from the east.

Upon seeing the King at the museum, Mr Glennie greeted him cheerfully and said "long time no see!"

The King told him about a portrait of Mr Glennie he had been shown at the museum, saying "it looked terrific" and promising to send him a message when he turns 100 in August.

The King said: "You're a great example to us all, if I may say so, you really are."

Mr Glennie's son James Glennie Jr said his father had once served Charles' sister Anne during a dinner at the museum, recalling her laughter when a potato rolled off the table and his father tried to hide it.

The Gordon Highlanders veteran was unable to join last summer's D-Day commemorations in Normandy.

The museum's chairman Colonel Charlie Sloan said the museum is now the "physical embodiment of the regiment" and the King had "thoroughly enjoyed" his visit.

He said: "While this place still exists, the regiment still exists."

As the King arrived he was played bagpipe music titled "the Tache" after the nickname of the regiment's last colonel Sir Peter Graham, who died recently.

The engagement on Monday marks the King's first visit to the museum since 2011, when he went there after unveiling the Gordon Highlanders statue in the city's Castlegate.

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