King Charles Carried a Concealed ‘Black Blade’ During His Scotland Visit — but Not for Self Defense
King Charles holds Scotland dear to his heart; after all, he visits the beautiful country for annual summer vacations with his family, and it’s also where his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, breathed her last. On July 28, the King visited Scotland ahead of his summer holidays for a reception with Caithness communities in Thurso. While he looked dapper in a traditional Scottish Highland dress complete with a kilt, a small detail caught royal watchers’ attention: a hidden black dagger tucked under his sock, with a small part sticking up his leg.
King Charles's hidden dagger is known as the skene-dhu, which is often paired with a traditional Scottish dress. As reported by GB News, a skene-dhu is a small knife tucked into the sock, with just the top showing. The name comes from Scottish Gaelic 'sgian' meaning knife, and 'dubh' meaning black, or another way of saying hidden. It’s purely ceremonial today and legal to wear in the UK when it’s part of full Highland dress, though there are a few exceptions. Charles paired the skene-dhu with a full kilt, in a Royal Stewart variant tartan, with other Highlander accoutrements including a sporran pouch and long red socks.
The King’s traditional dress featured a red kilt, specifically a variation of the Royal Stewart tartan, which is closely associated with the reigning British monarch. He also wore a leather sporran, the pouch worn at the front of the kilt, as kilts have no pockets. As per US Weekly, he paired the kilt with red knit socks, patent leather dress shoes, and a white shirt. He completed the look with a gray vest, a matching blazer, a red-and-green striped tie, and a silk pocket square. Charles also has a special kilt named after him, the King Charles III Tartan, designed in May 2023 by the Scottish Tartans Authority in honor of his coronation. It is officially registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans under the National Records of Scotland.
The monarch undertook a series of engagements during his visit to Thurso for a reception at the Fish Market Hall, organized by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). According to The Times, he unveiled plaques marking the 70th anniversary of the Dounreay nuclear site, the 50th anniversary of Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, and the 20th anniversary of the NDA. During the reception, he also met the crew of the PACIFIC HERON nuclear transport vessel, local sea cadets, RNLI volunteers, and industry staff. Earlier in July, he surprised patrons and visitors by popping into Fetcha Chocolates, a shop specializing in vegan confectionery.
As for Charles’s much-anticipated summer holidays in Balmoral, Town & Country reports that each year, the royal family retreats to Balmoral Castle for a weeks-long holiday in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This year, however, the King has reportedly deviated slightly from tradition by beginning his vacation at the Castle of Mey on Scotland’s northern coast before heading to Balmoral. The tradition of holidaying at Balmoral was started by the late Queen Elizabeth, who considered it one of her favorite residences.