First raising as a regular regiment in the British Army The regiment was raised in
Perthshire by
John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl as the '''77th Regiment of Foot (or Atholl Highlanders, or Murray's Highlanders)''' in December 1777. The regiment was formed as a relief for other regiments serving in North America, and spent most of its existence in
Ireland. The terms upon which the regiment was raised stated that the men were to be employed for either three years or the duration of the war in America. Three years later, in 1842, the regiment escorted
Queen Victoria during her tour of
Perthshire and, in 1844, when the Queen stayed as a guest of the Duke at
Blair Castle, the regiment mounted the guard for the entire duration of her stay. In recognition of the service that the regiment provided during her two visits, the Queen announced that she would present the Atholl Highlanders with
colours, thus giving the regiment official
Scottish regiment status, in perpetuity. A third stand of colours was presented in 2006 by the Duchess of Atholl. Under John Stewart-Murray,
7th Duke, the regiment regularly provided guards for royal visitors to Blair Castle (which was a convenient stopping point on the journey to
Balmoral). The regiment also attended the
Braemar Gathering, while the annual Atholl Gathering was held in the first week in September in which the regiment paraded, then participated in various trials of strength and stamina. Following the
First World War, parades of the regiment became fewer, although it did provide guards when the
Crown Prince of Japan and
King Faisal of Iraq visited Blair Castle in 1921 and 1933 respectively. After many years of inactivity the regiment remained in abeyance until in 1966, when it was reformed by
Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl. The 10th Duke made the decision to revive the regiment’s annual parade. They marched past the Duke led by two Atholl Highlander pipers. In 1973 the regiment returned to the
Braemar Gathering and took part in a march past in front of the
Queen and other members of the royal family. The 11th Duke, although resident in
South Africa, visited
Blair Atholl almost every year to inspect the regiment's annual parade until his death. The Atholl Highlanders continue with the
current Duke of Atholl as their
Colonel-in-Chief. ==Alliances==