Scottish Country Dance of the Day

"Highland display of dancing before George IV at Holyrood 1822"
This work most probably depicts part of the pageantry, organised by Sir Walter Scott, for the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822, the first visit by a reigning monarch to Scotland in nearly two centuries. Scott's inclusion of tartan in the pageantry would have a lasting impact, helping to popularise the image tartan kilt with the upper and middle classes. The King himself famously wore a kilt in what would become the Royal Stuart tartan, albeit too short, ending above the knee, his bare legs hidden in pink tights.