Queen presented with Stirling Castle keys and reopens museum

The Queen has officially reopened the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Museum during a visit to Stirling Castle.

As the longest-serving patron of the regiment, she was invited to unveil a plaque to commemorate the museum reopening after a three-year renovation.

The Queen was also presented with the keys to Stirling Castle before being taken on a tour to see some of the 5000 military artefacts and documents on display in the museum located in one of the oldest parts of the castle.

The Queen views exhibits in the new Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ Museum (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Wire

Having been named as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on her 21st birthday by her father, King George VI, the Queen remained patron until the regiment was incorporated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006.

The Queen is also Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

She was welcomed to the castle by almost 100 veterans of the Highlanders who had gathered for the event from across Scotland and England.

The key to Stirling Castle is held ahead of the Queen’s arrival (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Wire

The Queen was shown numerous items that had been put on display in the refurbished museums, including regimental uniforms, weapons used throughout the Highlanders’ military history and the new photo and video displays with links between the regiment and local communities.

During her tour, the Queen remarked that it was “very lovely to see all these pieces back together”, adding that the new museum was “very, very interesting”.

She also praised the volunteer who had digitised approximately 50,000 photographs from the museum’s archive, remarking that the pictures “really help people to understand” the history behind the artefacts.