King Charles shares dram with First Minister John Swinney at reception celebrating Scottish business owners

The King shared a dram with Scotland's first minister while hosting Scottish business owners at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

The reception in the Throne Room brought together various entrepreneurs, business owners, investors and capital investment firms to celebrate the nation's entrepreneurial spirit.

The King was joined by SNP leader John Swinney and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes at the event on Monday.

The meeting started with whisky tasting, as guests met representatives from Rosebank Distillery, which was founded in Falkirk in 1840 and won the best in show award at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

The King sampled a 31-year-old Rosebank whisky, which he described as having a taste of toffee.

Rosebank managing director Leonard Russell and his son Tom Russell, who is head of export at the firm, said the King expressed interest in their business.

Leonard Russell said: "He did know about whisky and he was interested that it was triple distilled and wanted to know why it had won best whisky in the world in the San Francisco competition, which is the biggest competition in America.

"He said it's got notes of toffee which is what you get from long aged whisky."

The family-run firm said they were "honoured" to share their business success with the King.

Mr Russell added: "What the King does to bring attention to businesses in Scotland is a remarkable thing."

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The King and Queen were both in Scotland as the Duke of Sussex's trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail got under way at the High Court in London.

Prince Harry appeared in person at the Royal Courts of Justice to follow proceedings.

He is expected to give evidence on Thursday.

In written submissions on behalf of the duke, barrister David Sherborne said Associated Newspapers Limited's methods of information-gathering left him "paranoid beyond belief" and created a "massive strain" on personal relationships.

(c) Sky News 2026: King Charles shares dram with First Minister John Swinney at reception celebrating