The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay visit the village of Ballater in Scotland

The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, as Their Royal Highnesses are known when in Scotland, visited local businesses and met shopkeepers in Ballater today. 

The Aberdeenshire village is still recovering following the devastating floods of December 2015. 

Their Royal Highnesses dropped in to several shops in Ballater that were damaged by Storm Frank, including Shorty’s Ice Cream Parlour, which only reopened three weeks ago.

Hundreds of residents were forced to leave their homes and dozens of businesses were unable to operate when the River Dee burst its banks and engulfed the area close to Balmoral.

Shorty’s Ice Cream Parlour owner Cheryl Littlewood said: "It was wonderful and so nice to see them in Ballater.

"The Duke and Duchess are always so lovely when they come and visit, they are so relaxed and it is so easy to have a conversation with them.

"They were always round the village at the time of the floods, so the support they gave has been brilliant and this visit will only help."

Other business owners said it was a great opportunity to show how much the community has bounced back from the brink of disaster.

The Duke and Duchess spoke to Byrn and Marilyn Wayte, owners of Deeside Books.

The shop, on Bridge Street, had to shut for 14 months after the floodwater destroyed almost 10,000 books. The couple kept the company going by selling books online.

Their Royal Highnesses visited Ballater in October last year to open a new restaurant and Highgrove Shop, which were developed with the support of HRH’s flood appeal and the Dumfries House Outreach Programme.