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- The
History of the Atholl Highlanders is directly linked to the
ancient clans and traditions of the Scottish Highlands, and in
particular, is connected to the great Donnachaidh Clan which had
Atholl as its chief.
- Before
the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the Scottish Kings didn’t have an
army of their own so they relied on forces provided by other clan
chiefs.
- The
most important intervention of this army was in 1706 when the Duke of
Atholl was against the Union with England, by then, he had a total
force of 4,000 men.
-
- The
Jacobite Rising
- In
1715 more than 1,400 Atholl men were formed in four regiments. In
1745, the 1st Duke’s son came back from France with
Bonnie Prince Charlie while his brother George Murray was Commander in
Chief of the Jacobite Army.
-
-
- The
American War of Independence
- In
1775 Colonel James Murray, the 4th Duke’s uncle, offered
to raise a regiment of 1,000 men but when the army was about to embark,
the war ended and they were diverted to Ireland until 1782.
- Then,
they were recalled to embark to India. The Highlanders were neither
offered a new contract to replace the three-year one which had long
since expired nor paid a re-engagement bounty. As a consequence of
this attitude by the government, the regiment marched to Berwick where
it disbanded.
-
-
- Queen Victoria
- The
4th Duke’s grandson, Lord Glenlyon who later became 6th
Duke, was responsible for the creation of this army in its present
form. When he welcomed
Queen Victoria in 1842, he chose a bodyguard of 100 men out of a total
of 870 to escort the queen to his other residence in Dunkeld.
-
- In
1844 he lent the castle to Queen Victoria for her three weeks’
holiday
-
- Queen
Victoria was received at the castle gates by a guard of honour while
the rest of the regiment was formed in front of it. This was the
permanent guard the queen had during her holidays in the castle. When
she left, Lord Glenlyon accompanied her on horseback to Dundee.
-
-
- The
Presentation of the Queen’s Colours
- Such
was the impression that Queen Victoria had when she visited Blair
Atholl that
- she
decided to grant her royal colours to the regiment in September 1845.
- That
event turned the Atholl Highlanders into the only private army in the
United Kingdom and in Europe until today.
-
- Throughout
the XIX and XX centuries, the Atholl Highlanders paraded in several
ceremonies during the royal visits to Perthshire and other parts of
Scotland.
- In
both World Wars, many Atholl Highlanders fought in South Africa with
the Scottish Horse Regiment formed in 1901.
- In
1966 Iain Murray, 10th Duke reformed the army, and today it
has a total force of 100 men of different ranks.
-
- The
Duke died in 1996 and his Atholl Highlanders, bore his coffin during
the funeral, and led by Pipes and Drums, provided the guard of honour.
-
- In
recent years, the regiment has travelled abroad, visiting South Africa,
the United States and Canada.
