King given Lego likeness by ‘good neighbours’ in Royal Deeside

The King and Queen have received miniature Lego versions of themselves as they met their “good neighbours” at a community hall in Aberdeenshire.

King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Albert Hall in Ballater to mark its 150th anniversary.

They were greeted by crowds and music from the Ballater and district pipe band as they arrived on Thursday morning. Charles wore a kilt in his own King Charles tartan.

The area has a long association with the royal family through their residences at Balmoral and Birkhall.

The royal couple were last there in October 2022, when a reception was held to allow the King to thank the community for its support after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

During their visit, the royal couple meet some of the community who use the hall.

A display of music and dance included the first performance of a fiddle tune composed by local musician Dr Paul Anderson for the anniversary.

A framed copy of the score was presented to the monarch by Gordon Riddler, chairman of the Victoria and Albert Halls Trust.

“People in Ballater call them good neighbours, because that’s what they are,” Mr Riddler said.

“Birkhall is only three miles away and that’s where he spends most of his time.

“They feel totally relaxed in Ballater because people talk to them as if they’re neighbours.”

Mr Riddler added that before Charles became King, he would sometimes drive into the village while staying in Aberdeenshire, though such impromptu visits were not possible with his new role.

Nicola Reid, the leader of Ballater Lego Club, was there to showcase a scale model of the hall built to mark the anniversary with bricks donated to the group.

For the royal visit, she added minifigures representing King Charles III and Queen Camilla with a Scots Guard, meeting a model of herself in a black wheelchair.

“This took weeks to do, it was a lot of work,” Nicola told the Queen, who described it as “fantastic”.

“With very limited pieces and very limited time, I made a representation of your majesties,” she said as she handed the minifigures to the King.

Ms Reid said afterwards that the model was a “labour of love” and the royals had seemed to “really like” the figure set.

She added: “He seemed quite impressed – he might treasure it.”