Scotish drummer asks to marry his partner in front of 9,000 audience.
My Drum Lessons and found out that a Scotish drummer proposed to his girlfriend on stage in Edinburgh this week in front of 9,000 people! That takes some bottle. The Royal Scots drummer who popped the question to his Highland dancer girlfriend. Drummer William McDowell was asked into the arena shortly after the opening sequence of Thursday night with the stadium announcer revealing the 24-year-old had a “special question to ask”.
With just a lone piper at centre William’s partner of two years Monica McElwee, 22, who starts the show with two other dancers. “We were told to stay on and I thought I had done something wrong but when I saw him I had an idea what was going to happen,” she said. “I couldn’t even say yes because I was too busy crying and smiling.” To great applause, he dropped to one knee and produced the ring. “All I got was a nod, she couldn’t quite get the words out, but it was a ‘yes’,” said William, who had a nervous 15-minute wait before taking the limelight.
“As soon as I marched on it was all a big blur and then the crowd erupted into a big cheer and I just got up and gave her a big cuddle,” Trp McDowell said. But the had to immediately perform at the show. Both admitted they were slightly “distracted”. “It was quite hard to get through – my mind was wandering,” Trp McDowell said. “I’ve wanted to propose for a while and I knew I wanted to do something different but it wasn’t until February when I found we were both performing at the Tattoo that I saw my opportunity.”
Miss McElwee, who has been Highland dancing since she was six, said the proposal was a complete surprise. “I didn’t really think about it because I still had three dances to do but then we watched the fireworks together and it started sinking in.” A Tattoo spokesman said: “We were thrilled to play our part in this surprise marriage proposal and hope William and Monica spend many happy years together.” The couple plan to stage a summer wedding in 2016.