‘My grandfather looked after King Charles at school – now my daughter and I have played for royalty’

Playing in the same pipe band as your two daughters would be a heart-warming moment for any dad.

But for Edward Tennant, a short performance at his former school brought together family and royal connections in a very particular way.

The Tennant family’s links to Gordonstoun School go back generations.

Edward’s grandfather was the unofficial term-time guardian of King Charles as a boy when he arrived at the Moray school.

The family home since 1912 – Innes House – is near the school and it’s where Charles’s parents (the then Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to you and I) stayed when they visited.

During Edward’s time at the school, he and his father Mark – also a piper – helped to revive the school pipe band.

And things came full circle at a recent school event when Edward got the chance to play alongside his drummer daughters and current pupils Henrietta and Arabella.

Edward, 42, said: “It was an extraordinary experience.

“I was at the end and I could see both my girls from my left.

“It’s a weird feeling sharing something like that.”

The laird and his musical family

Edward, his wife Zoe and the girls – Henrietta is 14 and Arabella is 11 – moved to Moray during Covid, not long after Edward’s mum died.

He now runs the estate (“If you want to use old parlance, I’m a laird”) and the girls are at Gordonstoun.

Edward is an OG (Old Gordonstonian) who followed in his father Mark’s footsteps as a piper. Mark is a well-respected player and competition judge.

When Edward arrived at the school in 1996, there was no pipe band.

“My father was most upset by this — and wanted to remedy it.”

The school brought in a pipe major Richard Anderson, who eventually handed over to Scott Oliphant, who is still there today.

Edward added: “In 2001, when I left, there were 10 or 12 pipers and a drum corps just starting. We had a sort of ensemble rather than a band.”

In the intervening years, Edward kept up with the pipes.

So when the family moved back to Scotland, he had an obvious question for his older daughter Henrietta.

He said: “I said, do you want to play the pipes?

“She said, I think it’s just too much, there’s so much going on at school, learning the pipes isn’t an easy thing.”

But what Henrietta did like the idea of was the drums. Edward added: “Ever since Henrietta started it, Arabella wanted to as well.”

So now, Zoe and Edward are the proud parents of two snare drummers.

Edward was able to come together with his daughters this year to play at the school’s Highland Games.

He said: “I last played with a band at university… so to play with both girls was extraordinary.”

Family Ties to the Crown

Although Edward assures me Princes William and Harry “wouldn’t know me from a bar of soap” (“which is fine”), the Tennant family have strong royal connections.

Time for a short family tree.

Edward’s grandfather, Sir Iain Tennant, was a well-known businessman in Moray who married Lady Margaret Ogilvy.

Lady Margaret’s brother Angus Ogilvy was married to Princess Alexandra of Kent – making her Edward’s great aunt.

Edward explained: “There was a bit of a royal connection by marriage.

“My grandfather was given Knight of the Thistle in the 1980s and he was Lord High Commissioner for the Assembly for the Church of Scotland.

But the “real kicker”, to use Edward’s words, was when Charles was sent to Gordonstoun – where Sir Iain was chairman of the governors at the time.

He added: “My grandparents became his facto guardians, if you like. Not officially, but we provided a place the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to stay whenever they came to visit.

“I think it gave Charles a little bit of a home from home so he could come back here at the weekends even when his parents weren’t here.”

I ask about the now-infamous alleged quote from the now-King Charles, when he was reported to have described Gordonstoun as “Colditz in kilts”.

Edward’s father Mark and the King were contemporaries and keep in touch, although Mark went to Eton.

Edward said the pair have talked about school before, adding: “My father said it didn’t matter where you went in the 1960s — public school was horrendous.

“Nobody looks back fondly on their days at boarding school in the 1960s. But I think he [Charles] struggled away from home — having Innes House probably gave him a little bit of respite.”

William, Harry and Edward

And what about the new generation?

Although Edward’s father was leaning towards sending him to Eton, his mum Hermione was keen for him to attend Gordonstoun for a very particular reason.

He said: “I would have been in between William and Harry. My mother was a very private person, she didn’t do public stuff. She said you’re better just to keep a distance.”

But despite apparently being indistinguishable from a bar of Imperial Leather in the younger royals’ eyes, Edward has had some indirect interaction with the future king.

Before William did his stint in search and rescue in Wales, there was talk at the time that RAF Lossiemouth might be an option.

But Edward revealed that it came close enough for a sounding-out phone call.

He said: “It was 50/50 whether he was going to Lossiemouth or Wales. And they chose Wales just because it was even more secluded than Lossiemouth.

“But we got phoned up and they said, there’s a chance, can you provide a five-bedroomed house for William and Kate?

“It used to be a very strong royal connection. It’s less so, but I think that’s just how life does that, you know, you never know it might get stronger, it might disappear.”

A piping and schooling legacy

Edward played at Angus Ogilvy’s funeral with his dad and at that of another great-uncle, David, Earl of Airlie.

The two funerals, one at Westminster and one at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea – means Edward has played in the King’s presence twice.

He said: “You get to play in some very special places. Obviously playing in Westminster was just incredible.”

And Edward is pleased his girls are having similar experiences.

Henrietta has played in Hong Kong and is due to play at the Lord Mayor’s Show in London. New York is a possibility at some point.

She has also played at the Braemar Gathering, so has started the royal connection already. No doubt Arabella will be doing the same soon.

He added: “It’s great for me as a dad to have something I can do with both girls. It’s really incredible to see something that was created when I was young still going on — and being very successful.

“I’ve always said to the girls: grab every opportunity.

“Gordonstoun is a sensational school. It has evolved with the times but it hasn’t lost its ethos.”

[Source: Press and Journal]