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King Charles is likely raising a glass on Burns Night.
The monarch, 77, is likely joining the people of Scotland in celebrating Burns Night, an annual holiday marked on Jan. 25, on what would have been poet Robert Burns’ birthday.
The King, who is an enthusiastic wearer of a kilt at official events in the nation, once underlined his love of the culture when he paid a special tribute to Scotland’s favorite poet. To mark the holiday in 2021, Charles toasted the Scottish people with a greeting of “slainte” and read from Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne,” which has been adopted as a popular New Year’s song.
Celebrating the words of the poem for being “a symbol of fellowship the world over — and never has that sense of connection been more important than now,” Charles said amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Charles used the occasion to read the famous lines before taking his own sip of “kindness” from a silver goblet.
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Also in 2021, Prince William and Kate Middleton used the Scottish holiday to pay tribute to the health staff working against all odds during the pandemic.
“Hello to everyone at NHS Tayside,” William said. “We know Burns Night is a special evening for Scots around the world – a time to come together to eat, drink and to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns.”
Kate added, “Sadly, this year is a little different. And for many of you working on the frontline, tonight will be a very different occasion, as you work tirelessly through this pandemic to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”
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William and Kate fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland, from where they both graduated in 2005.
Last spring, they even marked their 14th wedding anniversary seeing the Scottish islands of Mull and Iona. They stayed overnight at a small cottage, and William recalled to locals, “We’ve been here before, we remember it so well…”
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In traditions going back to Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, the family vacations in the summer months at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands, which was bought by Albert in 1845.
King Charles is also an ever-present at the annual Highland Games in Braemar, near Balmoral Castle, each September.
