A letter from an eight year old boy from the Black Isle has found its way from the Highlands to Buckingham Palace, where it is now part of a special summer display celebrating children’s correspondence with The King.

Horatio wrote to King Charles about the sheep, cows and lambs he helps his family look after near the Castle of Mey, and his words have been chosen alongside letters and drawings sent by children from around the world.

The display in Buckingham Palace’s Family Pavilion offers visitors a glimpse at some of the thousands of letters which arrive for The King every year.

In 2025 alone, The King and The Queen received 54,520 letters, which works out at almost 150 arriving every day.

Many come from children eager to tell The King about their lives, ask questions about his duties or write about subjects they know interest him, particularly the environment and sustainability.

Hundreds of replies are sent from Buckingham Palace’s Correspondence Office each week.

Among all that correspondence, a little piece of the Black Isle has now made it onto the Palace walls.

Horatio’s letter tells The King about life with his family’s animals near the Castle of Mey, creating a particularly fitting Highland connection given the Royal Family’s long association with Caithness.

His letter sits alongside correspondence from children much further afield, including New Zealand and the Falkland Islands.

Xenia from the Falkland Islands sent The King a birthday card featuring a drawing of whales and dolphins, while sisters Isla, aged 12, and Matilda, aged eight, wrote from New Zealand about their country’s native birds and marine wildlife.

Thomas and Charlotte from Clitheroe in Lancashire wrote to thank The King for visiting their town and meeting them at Clitheroe Auction Mart, where they presented him with their pedigree Beef Shorthorn bull calf.

Together, the letters offer something rather different from the ceremony normally associated with Buckingham Palace.

They show children simply talking to The King about the things that matter in their own lives, from animals and farming to wildlife and the places they call home.

For visitors this summer, reproductions of those handwritten letters and drawings can be seen in the Family Pavilion on the West Terrace overlooking the Palace garden.

The pavilion has been designed particularly for families, with games, interactive displays and opportunities for children to play during their visit.

Buckingham Palace remains open to visitors this summer until 27 September, with reduced admission available for young people and children, while those aged under five can enter free.

Tickets can be purchased at www.rct.uk

There will undoubtedly be grander objects to see during a visit to Buckingham Palace.

But for one Highland family, something considerably more personal is hanging there this summer.

A letter from an eight year old boy on the Black Isle telling The King about his sheep, cows and lambs.