[1] The ball dates to the 1840s, when George, Duke of Atholl and his wife, Anne, wanted to entertain their Scottish friends residing in London.

[2] By 1849, it had become a fundraiser for Scottish charities helping vulnerable schoolchildren, the homeless, and cancer patients.

Since the 1930s, the event has been held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London.

[5] The ball supports numerous charities in Scotland and has raised an estimated £3 million since its inception.

[16] Among the charities the ball supports are Queen Victoria School in Dunblane, Erskine Hospital, and St Catherine’s Homeless Project in Edinburgh.