The Piper to the Queen Mother was a position in the British Royal Household in which the holder of the office was responsible for playing the bagpipes at the request of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The position was established in 1953[1] and disbanded in 2002 following her death.
The first Piper to the Queen Mother was Leslie de Laspee, Pipe Sergeant of the London Scottish of which the Queen Mother was honorary colonel. Soon afterwards he was appointed Pipe Major. Subsequently, the position was held by the then current Pipe Major of the London Scottish.
The principal duty was to play in the gardens of Clarence House at 9am for 15 minutes on three mornings per week, and at state events as requested. There was no payment for these duties and the appointment was considered to be an honour.
The pipers holding the position were:
1953–1975: P/Sgt (later PM) Leslie de Laspee
1975–1985: PM D. Duncan
1985–1990: PM John Spoore
1990–1999: PM Ian King
1999–2001: PM Christopher Macpherson
2001–2002: PM John Bracken
Pipe Majors Spoore and Macpherson played at the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002.[2]
Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee played the role of private Bill Millin in the Holywood film The Longest Day (1962).[3] Bill Millin (1922–2010), who was personal piper to Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, commander of 1 Special Service Brigade at D-Day, is best remembered for playing the pipes whilst under fire during the D-Day landing in Normandy.[4]
^Helen Cathcart (1982). The Queen Mother herself. Magna Print. p. 427.
^"Queen Mother's piper returns for funeral". BBC News. 8 April 2002.
^"Dawlish D-Day veteran back in Normandy", The Herald, 6 June 2009,
^"Piper Bill Millin", Telegraph
and 20 Related for: Piper to the Queen Mother information
GMT, Queen Elizabeth TheQueenMother (formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), widow to King George VI and mothertoQueen Elizabeth II, died at the age of...
ThePipertothe Sovereign (Scottish Gaelic: Pìobaire an Uachdarain), more commonly known as the King's Piper (Pìobaire an Rìgh) or Queen'sPiper (Pìobaire...
was portrayed in the 1962 film The Longest Day. Millin was played by Pipe Major Leslie de Laspee, the official pipertotheQueenMother in 1961. One set...
Elizabeth TheQueenMother, to avoid confusion with her daughter Queen Elizabeth II. Born into a family of British nobility, Elizabeth came to prominence...
contains the final resting places of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth TheQueenMother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the ashes...
2006. The character was created by Constance M. Burge, who based Piper on her second-oldest sister. Piper is introduced into the series as the middle...
the repatriation of the body of Diana, Princess of Wales. The company also organised the funerals of Queen Elizabeth TheQueenMother in 2002, Princess...
but later converted to add gas production. Piper Alpha exploded and collapsed under the effect of sustained gas jet fires in the night between 6 and 7...
Lyly toQueen Elizabeth I, probably in 1598, quoted in Chambers 1923, pp. 96–98 and Chambers 1906, pp. 57–58 "September 1642: Order for Stage-plays to cease"...
Sophie Piper, née Eva Sophie von Fersen (30 March 1757 – 2 February 1816, Löfstad Slott), was a Swedish countess and lady in waiting. She was the daughter...
firstly Queen of Hungary, and secondly Queen of Germany and Sicily and Holy Roman Empress. She was regent of Sicily from 1212 to 1220. She was the second...
October 1668 – 1 February 1705) was the first Queen consort in Prussia as wife of King Frederick I. She was the only daughter of Elector Ernest Augustus...
the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the...
Miller, Kirstie Alley, and Piper Laurie, and featured Miller's mother, Susan Bernard, in a brief, uncredited cameo. It toured the festival circuit, and garnered...
of French origin, the daughter of Maria, thequeen-regnant of Jerusalem, and her husband, John of Brienne. She was reigning Queen of Jerusalem from 1212...
that he actually saw) a Piper who used the call of his pipe to sweep the children away. The idea of thepiper calling the boys to war is introduced in Chapter...
consumed by the mask of the Spectral Hand, turning her into undead lich-queen of pure evilness. This implies that she is/was distantly related toPiper. General...