King Charles III started the traditional annual game of hand ba’ in Jedburgh on Thursday as part of Royal Week in Scotland. The centuries-old event, which has been played in the Borders town since 1704, saw the King toss a leather ball into the air above a group of local men in the town’s main square.
Dressed in an immaculate grey suit, Charles stepped back to watch as competitors from two teams—the Uppies and the Doonies, based on where they live—wrestled for the ball in a heap on the ground. The full-contact game is a highlight of the town’s annual Jethart Callant festival, part of the “common ridings” held across the Borders each year.
Procession and Performances
Charles watched a pipe band march up the main street, followed by a colourful procession of horses led by the Callant—a young man chosen each year to lead the festival and represent the town. After dismounting, the Callant and his entourage performed a traditional reel on the square to the music of a single accordion, with crowds clapping along.
The King also visited local businesses and a market around the town’s bandstand, where stallholders presented him with gifts including local honey and a hand-made shepherd’s crook topped with a goat horn. He spent time at the Jed Shed, a community space for carpentry and crafts, where he helped screw the roof onto a birdhouse and discussed how the facility supports members’ physical and mental wellbeing.
Warm Welcome from the Community
Crowds of people turned out in warm sunshine for the first royal visit to the town since the Princess Royal opened the bandstand in 2006. On arrival, Charles was cheered by schoolchildren waving saltires and Union flags, while hundreds of well-wishers lined his route. Shaun Carroll, chairman of the Jedburgh Royal British Legion, said he was “chuffed to bits” that Charles stopped to chat. “He asked us about the Legion we had in Jedburgh, and he asked if I was managing to recruit any younger members yet,” Carroll said. “What an honour for the town and the small businesses here. It’s been great, absolutely great.”
Julie Gallagher, 51, had an “impromptu” chat with the King from the front step of the estate agent where she works. “It was a lovely, unexpected meeting. He was very nice. Just asked how we were, and shook our hands, and carried on to the florist,” she said. “That was a very firm handshake. He’s done it a few times in his life, so it was very nice experience just to meet him in the flesh. It’s such a positive thing for the town and it’s just great to have been part of it.”
Emma Tennant, 56, a stallholder at the market, described the visit as “fantastic.” She added: “I thought the town put on a fantastic mix of displays, and our group here, we had honey, we had stick makers, and he had really lovely time for each different stall.” She said Charles was “very interested” in her work supporting the local bee population and was “very grateful” for gifts of lip balm and honey. “He said he didn’t think he earned it, but I said I was grateful that he’d come to Jedburgh to see all the good things that go on in Jedburgh,” she said.
The visit is part of Royal Week in Scotland, which began on Tuesday with the King arriving at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh for the Ceremony of the Keys and an investiture. Charles and Camilla last visited the Scottish Borders in 2023 for engagements in Galashiels and Selkirk.
