Two cairns were constructed to mark the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. 60 stones, one for each year of Elizabeth's reign, were laid in the village of
Ballater, with the main stone from a local quarry in Inver. The cairn was constructed by two
dry stone master 'dykers', Norman Haddow and William Crooks Cassidy, and was a gift to the Queen from her Scottish Warrant Holders and current and former employees of Balmoral. The cairn is marked with an etched slate plaque with the Queen's initials and the date, made by carver Gillian Forbes. The cairn was surmounted with a top stone found in a river, and 10-year-old malt whisky was poured over the final stone upon the cairn's completion. ==References==