Queen attends annual Braemar Gathering

The Queen and other members of the royal family have joined thousands of spectators at the annual Braemar Gathering.

The event on Royal Deeside is seen as the biggest in the Highland Games calendar, and is always on the first Saturday in September.

This year it is helping to raise funds for residents affected when the River Dee burst its banks in December.

It happened as Storm Frank battered Scotland.

Jim Wood, Secretary of Braemar Royal Highland Society, said the Gathering was a "great spectacle" that was "known the world over".

It was his first year in the role, and he said bringing together the infrastructure for one day of the year was a "daunting task".

He said the money raised would go to help residents in the village of Ballater.

"Storm Frank devastated the village of Ballater," he said.

"If you had seen the arena on New Year's morning, it was more like a curling pond than it was like you see it today.

"A huge amount of work from our groundsmen has gone in to making it look like that."

Queen Victoria first attended Braemar in 1848 and since then it has been regularly visited by the reigning monarch and other members of the royal family.

The Queen first attended the Braemar event as a seven-year-old child in 1933.

She has attended virtually every year since coming to the throne in 1952.

Last year's event marked the 200th anniversary of the society which runs it.