Songs of Praise filmed at Balmoral Church to mark Queen’s dying

Songs of Praise has been filmed at Balmoral Church for the first time to mark the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II‘s death.

Crathie Kirk, the Scottish church where the nation’s longest-reigning monarch used to worship, is very close to the castle in which Elizabeth died peacefully on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96.

The special programme, due to be screened on Sunday, features a hymn commissioned by the King called Crathie in honour of the building.

The King also marked the second anniversary of mother’s death and his accession to the throne in a reflective mood at the church today. 

During the broadcast, presenter Claire McCollum meets Crathie’s minister and chaplain to the monarch, Reverend Ken MacKenzie, to reflect on the late Queen’s deep faith and how she always felt part of his congregation.

He will take the broadcaster on a historical tour of the kirk, including the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1893 and the royal pews where the King and Queen Camilla regularly worship. 

Rev Kenneth MacKenzie, told the Mail that he had been keen to ‘celebrate her life, service and faith’.

‘It was not a memorial service,’ he said, ‘ but mention was made of the significance of this particular day and prayers were said to celebrate the life, service and faith of the late Queen, as well as her family, the King and all generations of his family.

‘We were very involved [with events] when she died and there are a lot of people here who wished to mark the day.’

Professor Paul Mealor conducts the congregation during the special recording, with those gathered singing a number of hymns including the new piece written by him for the King.

Prof Mealor is one of the country’s leading composers who has created music for a number of royal events including Charles’s 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays, and the 2011 wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Claire McCollum also meets a local ghillie – an attendant during hunting or fishing trips – on the River Dee to see how faith and fly-fishing can go hand in hand.

They will then take a walk through the Cairngorms with Merryn Glover, an award-winning Christian writer to compose a poem reflective of her time there.

Songs Of Praise was first broadcast on the BBC in October 1961 and showcases congregations around the UK singing hymns and spiritual music.

Thought to be the world’s longest running religious TV programme, it first aired in 1961 from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cardiff. Since then it has been filmed in churches and cathedrals across the UK.

The programme was a regular feature in Sunday evening schedules before being switched to early afternoons in 2021.

King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a Sunday service at Crathie Kirk with special prayers for the late Queen before spending the rest of the day privately, very much like the late Queen did when marking the date of her accession back in 1952. 

From then until she died aged 96, she would stay at Sandringham in Norfolk, where King George VI passed away at just 56.

As a monarch’s accession is so intrinsically intertwined with the death of a parent, it is not considered a moment for ‘celebration’ but one for quiet reflection.

The King could be seen, with his window slightly open, in the back seat of the maroon state Bentley with Camilla at his side as they arrived at 11.25am.

The Queen, dressed in a green jacket with red and green tartan lapels and a green hat decorated with a feather, smiled at awaiting media as she held her handbag on her lap.

The King, who had a pink flower in the lapel of his grey jacket, was seen adjusting his cuffs.

One of a small group of wellwishers who gathered to see the monarch was tourist Diane Brandish, who was visiting Scotland from Christchurch in New Zealand.

Mrs Brandish and her husband saw the King waving at the crowd as he entered the church, saying ‘he was very gracious’.

She said: ‘Most people in New Zealand follow the Royal Family quite closely and are aware of the anniversary.’

Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said he had remembered the Royal Family in his prayers during his sermon, and it was a privilege to preach to the King, the Queen and rest of the congregation.

After the service, he described how the King was ‘very well known and liked’ in the local community around Balmoral and is ‘very much part of it’, just like the late Queen.

Dr Paterson said: ‘It was a privilege to preach to the congregation of Crathie Kirk, which included King Charles III and members of the royal family.

‘This weekend is particularly significant and poignant for the royal family, indeed for all of us in Scotland, across the wider UK and Commonwealth, because the 8th of September marks the second anniversary of the death of Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty’s accession to the throne.

‘Like his late mother, His Majesty is very well known and liked in this community and is very much part of it. I remembered the royal family, along with all the people of this parish and the wider nation and Commonwealth in my prayers.’

Tributes were also publicly paid to the late Queen to mark the anniversary, with the monarchy’s official X account posting a photograph of the Queen smiling happily at a summer Buckingham Palace garden party in 2019.

The image of the monarch, in a pale pink hat and matching outfit, appeared alongside the words: ‘Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, hailed the ’70 glorious years of her reign’.

‘Today marks two years since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II,’ Sir Keir said in a message on social media.

‘The late Queen’s dedication to the UK and Commonwealth taught us that whatever challenges our country faces, the value of service always endures.

‘For the 70 glorious years of her reign, she was at the heart of this nation’s life. Today we honour her memory.’