Obviously there are many rules and traditions that members of the Royal Family commit to, and just because we don't always know why they are important does not mean that there is no honest reason for them at all. The Queen has to stop eating when she stops, women are not allowed to cross their legs in the dress code, the royal family always takes parliamentarians hostage when parliament meets (it's a thing (opens in new tab))... You get the idea.

But perhaps the strangest tradition I have ever heard from the Queen is that there is a bagpiper appointed by the Sovereign to play outside the window for the Queen for 15 minutes every morning during her stay at Balmoral Castle. 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes. Of bagpipes. I know this is a bit of a stretch, since Balmoral is the Queen and her family's Scottish residence, and bagpipes are higher on the list of Scottish things to do than kilts and haggis. But 15 minutes at 9 a.m. seems a very long time to listen to bagpipes every day. If only it were long enough for the Queen...

According to the "Express" (opens in new tab), the position of Her Majesty's bagpiper was recently filled by Major Scott Methven, a wind instrument major. And not only did he play for her, but the queen and the royal family even showed up for him at a moment of crisis. When Methven's wife was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer, he told the BBC (opens in new tab) Then, shortly before his wife's death, the queen gave permission for the entire family to stay at Windsor Castle. That's the memory," Methven said.Click here for the full video of his interview with the BBC (opens in new tab)."

Methven added, "People don't care what you think about the Royal Family or the Queen, but they brought it out for me."

This story is very moving and makes me want to reconsider my previous stance on bagpipes.