A mountain rescue team which had Prince Philip as its patron for more than 50 years has paid tribute to the late duke, and thanked him for his decades of support.
The royal became the patron of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Association in 1966, a year after the organisation was founded to save lives all throughout the southern Cairngorms, Glenshee, Lochnagar and Deeside regions.
Over the years, the duke had shown “keen interest” in the work of the rescuers, and members of the team had been invited to royal events at Birkhall.
In 2014, the team met with Prince Philip at Balmoral as they celebrated being presented with a new Land Rover.
In a tribute posted online, the rescue team said: “He always took a keen interest in the work of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Association and was generous with his time and support for the activities of his local mountain rescue team.
“We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family.”
The team is called out to more than 40 incidents every year, and as a voluntary organisation, it is dependant on public donation.
One such call-out was on Sunday, when the team were dispatched to assist an injured walker on Lochnagar, the prominent Munro that towers over Deeside, and lies within Balmoral estate.
Malcolm MacIntyre, support manager with the Braemar Mountain Rescue Association said: “His patronage goes all the way back almost to the team’s inception in the 60s, which is way before my time.
“He was involved when we did some renovation work at the centre, he came along and officialy reopened it, and he kept in touch with what was happening.”
Anyone wishing to support the life-saving work of the Braemar Mountain Rescue Team can visit www.braemarmountainrescue.org.uk
