King Charles appeared in high spirits this afternoon as he braved the rain to open a new distillery in Scotland.
The monarch, 74, was all smiles as he arrived at the 8 Doors Distillery in Wick, Caithness, this afternoon.
For the engagement, the royal wore a green kilt and tweed jacket with a matching waistcoat.
He paired this with a green-and-red striped tie, green woollen socks and black leather brogues.
After stepping out of his car, the King was greeted by the distillery owners Kerry and Derek Campbell.
King Charles seen sampling some of the whiskies that are produced at 8 Doors Distillery during his tour
The trio then headed inside where King Charles was taken on a tour of the premises.
The royal also looked delighted as he was invited to test some of the whiskies and got stuck into reviewing the casks.
Later, the monarch – who was presented with Scotland’s ancient symbols of power in a historic thanksgiving service last month – will unveil a plaque to mark the official opening.
The establishment is Scotland’s most northerly mainland whisky distillery and the monarch will no doubt be intrigued by their eco-friendly practices.
The distillery has re-purposed all the stainless-steel vessels used during production from other sites, and the waste from the distillation process is collected and turned into bio-gas for re-use at a local anaerobic digestion plant.
King Charles has spoken passionately about the importance of protecting the environment for the past 50 years.
In 2020, the King admitted that people thought he was ‘dotty’ when he began speaking about the importance of protecting the environment to the Countryside Steering Committee for Wales.
The King was invited to review the casks on-site with members of staff – which involved tapping the barrels
King Charles was invited to the whiskies that are produced on-site at 8 Doors Distillery
Later, the monarch will unveil a plaque to mark the official opening. The establishment is Scotland’s most northerly mainland whisky distillery
King Charles reviews a cast of whisky during his tour of the new distillery in Wick, Scotland
King Charles pictured shaking hands with food producers who work in the local community
Charles signs the visitor book at 8 Doors Distillery in Wick, Scotland this afternoon
The King didn’t let the wet weather dampen his good mood and appeared in great spirits as he spoke with the owners
King Charles pictured greets local schoolchildren outside 8 Doors Distillery in Wick this afternoon
At the age of 21, Charles delivered his first impassioned speech about his personal concern over oil pollution and single-use plastic.
He also told how, as a teenager in the 1960s, he was concerned about the destruction of trees, wetlands and habitats as well as ‘the white heat of progress and technology to the exclusion of nature and our surroundings’.
In his 1970 address, Charles highlighted a problem that has become an illustration of humanity’s threat to nature.
Then he had said: ‘When you think that each person produces roughly 2lb of rubbish per day and there are 55 million of us on this island using non-returnable bottles and indestructible plastic containers, it is not difficult to imagine the mountains of refuse that we shall have to deal with somehow.’
What’s more, Prince William is also following in his father’s footsteps with his Earthshot Prize initiative – which he launched in 2020.
A member of the public pictured curtseying for King Charles during his visit to Wick in Scotland today
For the engagement, the royal, 74, wore a green kilt and tweed jacket with a matching waistcoat
King Charles shared a laugh with members of staff as he arrived at the distillery in Scotland today
King Charles was all smiles as he arrived this afternoon to open 8 Doors Distillery
The King remained in high spirits as he shielded himself from the rain in Scotland this afternoon
Founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award to discover and develop ground-breaking solutions to solve the climate crisis.
Five winners each year over the next decade will be given £1 million each in prize money, as well as specialised mentoring, to accelerate their ambitions.
The Prize recognises finalists and winners across five challenges, or ‘Earthshots’: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World, and Fix our Climate.
Kerry Campbell, co-founder of 8 Doors Distillery, said: ‘We were honoured to welcome the King to 8 Doors Distillery and thoroughly enjoyed sharing our story and what makes our distillery so unique with him, as well as offering him the opportunity to fill a cask in our warehouse.
‘Throughout his visit he had the opportunity to meet many of our team, from those working in our distillation team through to our retail and distillery lounge staff, all of whom embody our passion for both the whisky industry and the local area.’