'Long time no see' D-Day veteran, 99, tells King during his visit to regimental museum

The King has attended an engagement in Aberdeen, where he met a 99-year-old D-Day veteran at a regimental museum.

Charles was visiting The Gordon Highlanders Museum, which celebrates the story of the British regiment originally raised by the 5th Duke of Gordon in 1784.

The 76-year-old monarch was pictured wearing the green and navy blue regimental tartan kilt and tie of the famous Gordon Highlanders.

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As the Duke of Rothesay, Charles was appointed Colonel in Chief of the regiment in 1978 and remained so until its amalgamation with the Queen's Own Highlanders in 1994.

As well as viewing recent renovations at the museum and meeting some of the staff involved, the King met museum volunteers and supporters, among them D-Day veteran Jim Glennie.

The King praised the 99-year-old as a "great example to us all" as he toured the museum.

The veteran of the Gordon Highlanders was unable to join last summer's D-Day commemorations in Normandy.

As an 18-year-old private, Jim Glennie was part of the invasion force which landed at Sword Beach on D-Day.

He was later wounded in action and taken prisoner, spending the remainder of the war in Stalag IV-B.

He and other soldiers made their own way back to Allied lines when their German guards deserted them as the Russians approached from the east.

Upon seeing the King at the museum, Mr Glennie greeted him cheerfully and said: "Long time no see!"

The King told him about a portrait of Mr Glennie he had been shown at the museum, saying "it looked terrific" and promising to send him a message when he turns 100 in August.

The King said: "You're a great example to us all, if I may say so, you really are."

Mr Glennie's son James Glennie Jr said his father had once served Charles' sister Anne during a dinner at the museum, recalling her laughter when a potato rolled off the table and his father tried to hide it.

Earlier, Charles was shown a kilt which was worn by Captain Alexander Manson during the Battle of the Ancre in November 1916, part of the wider Battle of the Somme.

Grandson Sandy Manson explained to the King that Capt Manson had been sent "over the top" on 13 November, 1916, and was severely injured by an artillery shell.

His wounds were deemed to be fatal and a notice of his death was even sent home to his family in Scotland on 18 November, although to their relief his status was corrected to 'wounded in action' the next day.

The kilt, which is still partially covered in mud from the Somme, was kept untouched in an attic at the family home for decades but has now been presented to the museum, along with letters written by Capt Manson and the erroneous death notice.

Mr Manson said: "At home, we've got such a wonderful history of family artefacts, that's one of the most grisliest, but it tells a story.

"It reminds me how lucky I am to be here."

He added: "His Majesty is so remarkably interested and informed about the history of the regiment."

The official engagement marks the King's first visit to the museum since 2011 when he went there after unveiling the Gordon Highlanders statue in the city's Castlegate.

The museum's chairman Colonel Charlie Sloan said the museum is now the "physical embodiment of the regiment" and the King had "thoroughly enjoyed" his visit.

He said: "While this place still exists, the regiment still exists."

As the King arrived he was played bagpipe music titled The Tache after the nickname of the regiment's last colonel Sir Peter Graham, who died recently.

The museum is an independent self-financed museum governed by a charitable trust, which seeks to preserve the heritage of The Gordon Highlanders, and uses their stories to help people understand what it means to have served in a Highland Regiment.

The King has spent the past few weeks in Scotland, enjoying some downtime in the Highlands and is due to travel to Poland next week, to attend a commemoration service, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp.