• Major Paul Burns has been Sovereign’s Piper since last year.
• He is the 17th piper to hold the position.
• His main role is to play the bagpipes every morning at 9 a.m.

A piper has been seen playing to King Charles at Windsor Castle as a wake-up call, following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria.

Major Paul Burns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was seen playing the bagpipes from the Long Walk by Charles’ private rooms this week.

He has been the Sovereign’s Piper since last year, and he is the 17th piper to hold the position.

Queen Victoria initiated the custom, with the piper’s main role being to play every morning at 9 a.m. under the monarch’s window, as well as on state events.

He also sang a touching lament at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in St George’s Chapel in Windsor as the Queen’s casket was lowered into the Royal Vault.

He was the sole musician during the Windsor committal service, and as he played the pipes, he moved between the chapel and the Dean’s Cloister, allowing the music from the ceremony to gradually drift away.

Major Burns would play for 15 minutes every morning at 9 a.m. for the late Queen wherever she was in residence, whether at Buckingham Palace, her ultimate resting place of Windsor Castle, or the bagpipe’s home in Scotland, where the Queen resided in Balmoral.

Now, Charles has demonstrated that he is eager to modernize the monarchy while yet preserving some traditions.

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