King Charles, in kilt and as Chieftain of the Mey Highland Games, watched tug of war, caber tossing and highland dancing at the annual event in Caithness on the first Saturday of August 2026. The games, held every year on that date, were established in 1970 to mark the 70th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Charles took on the chieftaincy after her death in 2002 and has maintained the attendance she began (Royal Central).

At this year's games, the King met organisers and a group of veterans known as the Wounded Highlanders, who compete in adaptive events. He often stays at the nearby Castle of Mey in early August, the former home of The Queen Mother, before the games each year.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, the Prince and Princess of Wales brought all three children — Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Louis — to the penultimate day of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The family watched netball and cycling. It was the first official public engagement in Scotland for the three children (Royal Central).

Prince Louis turned heads in a Welsh team hat. The games themselves are a considerable undertaking: over 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories competing across 10 sports and six Para sports (The Royal Family).

After the games, King Charles was expected to head to Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire for a summer break with Queen Camilla. The King traditionally hosts the Prime Minister and their partner at Balmoral for a weekend during the summer. This year, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Hell were expected to make that visit (Royal Central).

The Balmoral estate carries its own weight of history. Queen Elizabeth II died at the castle in September 2022, and Charles became King immediately upon her death. The weekly audience with the prime minister — the private meeting between monarch and head of government — is one of the few duties that follows the King to Balmoral, along with the red boxes of state papers that arrive daily.

Official engagements by members of the Royal Family are published on the Royal Diary up to eight weeks in advance. Past engagements are recorded in the Court Circular, the official daily log of royal activity. Both are maintained by the royal household.

For the children in Glasgow, the day was a first footing on Scottish soil in an official capacity. For the King in Caithness, it was a return to a role he has held for over two decades — chieftain of a games that began as a birthday gift to a queen mother and became a fixture of the August calendar.