Queen Mother celebrations continue

Thousands of well-wishers turned out to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday

A castle where the Queen Mother spent most of her childhood has continued her 100th birthday celebrations by staging a concert.

More than 6,000 people gathered at Glamis Castle, near Forfar, Angus, to hear a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra of Scotland.

The Queen Mother was not present to see them perform Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, complete with cannons, and music from Swan Lake.

The orchestra also gave the first public performance of the Glamis Castle Waltz - written in 1912 for the Countess of Strathmore, the Queen Mother's mother.

She spent all of her childhood here and she still comes back on a regular basis

Colonel Patrick Cardwell-Moore

Castle administrator Colonel Patrick Cardwell-Moore said the Queen Mother is held in high affection in the area.

"She's their local celebrity, quite frankly," he said.

"She spent all of her childhood here and she still comes back on a regular basis and she's associated with local charities."

The Queen Mother has always maintained close links with the castle since her first visit at the age of three.

When her grandfather died in 1904, her father inherited the castle and estate.

As a teenager Elizabeth Bowes Lyon and her family spent the whole of the First World War at Glamis.

She and her sisters helped nurse wounded British soldiers at the castle, which was converted into a hospital.

A piper marks plays The Queen Elizabeth March at Glamis

The Queen Mother celebrated her centenary on Friday with more than 40,000 well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace.

She rounded off her day with a trip to the Opera House, in Covent Garden, London, to see the Kirov Ballet dance a mixed programme by the legendary Russian choreographer Mikhail Fokine.

Staff at the Queen Mother's summer home at the Castle of Mey in Caithness are waiting to give her post-birthday greetings when she arrives on Monday for her annual break.

The Queen Mother is expected to arrive by air at Wick Airport in the early afternoon.

During her stay, she is expected to make her normal visits to an art exhibition in Thurso and the annual Highland Games at Mey, a stone's throw away from the castle.