Day One
In Scotland, The Duke of York visited Lindores Abbey Distillery which is based in Fife. The distillery, which was re-established in 2017, is known as the ‘spiritual home of whisky’ as it was at the site in 1494 where the earliest written reference to Scotch Whisky appears.
It was a Lindores Abbey monk, Brother John Cor, who was commissioned by King James IV to turn 8 bolls of malt into Aqua Vitae (as whisky was known then). The distillery is already producing its own Aqua Vitae using water from the same borehole that was used by the monks in 1494.
Next, His Royal Highness joined Optos as they were presented with their third Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The company, based in Dunfermline, provides retinal imaging and was founded in 1992 by Douglas Anderson after his young son went blind one eye after a retinal detachment was detected too late.
Optos introduced ultra-widefield (UWF) retinal imaging to enable eyecare professionals to discover, diagnose, document and treat ocular pathology, which may have previously gone undetected using traditional examination techniques and equipment.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of:
• innovation
• international trade
• sustainable development
• promoting opportunity through social mobility
Find out more: https://www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise
Day Two
The Duke of York started the day by visiting Heriot Watt University’s new GRID Building, a ground-breaking facility designed to advance global research, innovation and discovery.
The GRID includes an Enterprise Hub that supports business innovation, showcases emerging technology & inventions, and encourages staff and students to pursue the commercial potential of their creative ideas.
In the afternoon His Royal Highness joined The Queen, The Earl of Wessex and The Princess Royal for a Garden Party in the grounds of the Palace of the Holyroodhouse. 8,000 guests are invited annually as way to thank them for their public service, community work or military service.
The Garden Party comes at the end of Holyrood Week, where Her Majesty spends a week in Scotland, meeting Scots from all walks of life and celebrating Scottish culture, achievement and community.
