Even if your travel plans are cancelled this holiday season, you can still enjoy Christmas in the Highlands!
The movie “Christmas at the Castle” (originally released in 2019 as “Christmas in the Highlands”), will be broadcast on Wednesday, December 23 at 8:00 PM U.S. Eastern time on the Lifetime cable channel. The best part is that a (brief!) position of the film was shot at Castle Forbes.
The 90-minute film produced by Reel One Entertainment follows Blair Henderson (Brooke Burfitt), a perfume expert based in New York City. She travels to Scotland to purchase the rights to a rare Scottish fragrance, The Heart of the Highlands. However, the owner of the fragrance, Alistair McGregor (Dan Jeannotte), refuses to sell. She poses as a filmmaker featuring his perfumery – and the usual mix of romance, conflict, and holiday magic ensues.
The major backdrop for this romantic comedy is the stunning Glamis Castle in Angus, which was the family home of Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born in 1900 to Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife, Cecilia (née Cavendish-Bentinck). She spent her childhood at Glamis Castle, which was converted to a military hospital during the First World War. The castle is currently the home of Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who succeeded to the earldom in 2016.
However, Glamis Castle is not the only Scottish location used in the film. Malcolm, Lord Forbes, notes that, “I thought members of the Society who have visited the perfumery at Castle Forbes might like to know that it is featured (briefly!)” Lord Forbes adds, “The film was originally titled ‘Christmas in the Highlands’ and was shown on movie channels here under that title in this country in the heat of July!”
As Society members know very well, Malcolm and Jinny, Lord and Lady Forbes, created their own line of scents in the old dairy on the grounds of Castle Forbes in Alford, Aberdeenshire. In 1996, Lady Forbes developed her passion for scents and essential oils into the current “Castle Forbes” collection of luxury men’s grooming products. Lady Forbes collaborated with professional fragrance creator, Andrew French, and the collection has evolved into a range of top-quality fragrances which is particularly noted for its shaving products including a non-alcoholic pre-shave, shaving creams and after-shave balms.
Since Lifetime secured the rights and retitled the film, “Christmas at the Castle” is not currently available for streaming on major video platforms, such as Prime Video or Netflix. However, this may change after the broadcast on Lifetime, which may offer it to their subscribers. In the meantime, you can stream the trailer at Internet Movie Database (IMDB) at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8708564/ .
More information is available at the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Christmas-in-the-Highlands-103504691157086/ and the Reel One site at http://reeloneent.com/programming/christmas-in-the-highlands/.