With brand new shiny coronet and clad in shocking Barbie pink socks to complement the hot shades of his swish kilt, Scotland’s newest clan chief held court in a rain spattered gazebo.
Before him was a remarkable array of adoring ‘subjects’: many had travelled thousands of miles to the wet Trossachs to bask in his presence, tap along to a pipers’ rendition of The Green Hills of Tyrol and to share a precious moment of Scottish clan history.
Washed down with 100% proof mezcal spirit made by a Mexican Scot named Pedro Buchanan – who might just have had a claim for the chief’s title himself – centuries of rudderless clan existence finally came to an end.
For most Scots, including ones bearing the Buchanan name, the momentous gathering of the clan to ‘crown’ their new chief passed them by.
But, as a new fly on the wall film reveals, the investiture of the Clan Buchanan’s first chief in more than 300 years, toasted with Pedro’s fiery Mexican spirit, echoing with Transatlantic pledges of loyalty and bedecked with international flags, was a far more global affair than last time around.
Filmed in New Hampshire, Mexico City and at Cambusmore, the 6000-acre Trossachs family pile of new chief, The Buchanan of Buchanan, John Michael Baillie-Hamilton Buchanan, the new BBC Scotland documentary follows preparations for last October’s lavish gathering.
As well as filling a post made vacant in 1681 when the last chief, John Buchanan, died without a male heir, the ‘fly on the wall’ film reveals how the long-awaited 21st century ‘coronation’ has ignited passionate flames of Scottish pride among the thousands of scattered Buchanan diaspora around the world.
And for some, the rebooted Clan Buchanan, with its dazzling new ‘Instagrammable’ tartan, shiny new coronet, sword and stone throne, and equally new chief have offered a tangible and surprisingly emotional link to the ‘old country’.
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Meet the Clan, screened Tuesday evening, follows new chief, The Buchanan, also known as just ‘Mike’, and his family as they write their own script for a ceremony not performed for more than three centuries and for which there is no clear set of rules.
While he tours Highland games at home and abroad with his sons sharing the message of the clan’s revival, his wife, Lady Paula, and daughter, Lucy, set about designing an eye-catching new tartan for the event, in shades of ‘hot pink’, coral orange and vivid turquoise.
Inspired by historic documents and the family’s close ties with Sir Walter Scott, a frequent visitor to Cambusmore and nearby Loch Katrine, Lady Paula oversees the production of new clan treasures, including the bejewelled coronet, a handcrafted ceremonial sword and stone carved ‘throne’.
The format of the ceremony, she reveals, is now being looked at by other Scottish clans keen to also engage with a potential global network of members.
“We have managed to reintroduce an important historic event lost for centuries into the clan calendar,” she says.
“People can use this event as a blueprint for their event. Other clan chiefs have been eyeing it up.
“We have reclaimed our history, the Buchanans are back.”
Pedro, a Mexican businessman descended from Scottish civil engineer, William Cross Buchanan, who emigrated from Old Kilpatrick in the mid-19th century to help construct the country’s railroads, was among 300 clansmen and women to witness the event.
Having untangled his family tree to reveal direct links to Clan Buchanan’s 12th chief, Sir Walter Buchanan of that Ilk, the clan’s vibrant revival with new chief at the helm are the final piece in a centuries-old jigsaw with a surprising ‘spiritual’ twist.
At a small clearing alongside dusty roads in the state of Oaxaca, he oversees the harvesting of mature agave plants. Their boulder-sized ‘pineapple’ cores are roasted in pits in the ground, juice and fibre extracted, fermented and double distilled to make 100% proof spirit.
Having made his mezcal, Pedro is filmed bottling it to bring to the Trossachs as an offering to his new clan chief.
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It is a particularly poignant return to his family roots: although born and raised in Mexico, DNA results show he is more than 38% Scottish, while the ‘spirits’ come full circle when he finds his ancestor’s now long-gone home – Auchentoshan House – shares its name with a malt whisky.
Speaking from home in Mexico, he says being part of the clan and the Auchentoshan connection help him – and fellow international clansmen and women – better understand their own identities.
“It is a gift to know where we are where we come from to where we belong,” he says.
“As a young man I knew about this, but I didn’t pay attention – the young generations don’t see the importance.
“But I feel different now. I felt extremely connected when I came (to Scotland).
“It’s not what you see - you can see the landscape and the castles and eat the food - but it is who you are.”
The digital world with easy access to family records, images and information has been instrumental in igniting new passion for Scottish heritage among people like him, he adds.
While the focal point of the clan – although often of little interest to many modern Scots – is an anchor for an international community seeking a place to call ‘home’.
As a result, his clan roots have introduced him to countless fellow Buchanans and ‘cousins’: “If you have extended family, you will be stronger and you don’t feel lonely. It’s a sense of support and strength,” he adds.
Although family tree research originally started by his aunt, Irene Buchanan Espinosa, traced his ancestry to the mid-15th century and the clan’s 12th chief, he opted not to pursue a claim to the title.
“I could have built a strong case but that would not be proper, I’m far away from Scotland.
“What is important is to belong to a clan and to have the best chief that we can have and that’s someone born and raised in Scotland.”
New Hampshire sisters, Margaret Noel and Jane Jennison also attended the Perthshire ceremony after being switching their ‘Yankie’ identity to Clan Buchanan after being reminded of their great-grandmother’s Scottish heritage.
Having now “sort of embraced becoming Buchanans” even though they “haven’t a clue what any of it means”, they are seen dressing in tartan outfits, attending Highland games and fretting over whether taking part in the ceremony would see them regarded as “an American jerk”.
Clan Buchanan had been without a chief since its last, John Buchanan, died in 1681 without a male heir.
Father of four Mr Buchanan, an Oxford graduate, chartered civil engineer and who represented Scotland in target rifle at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, began to explore his claim following his father’s death in 2009.
After more than a decade of genealogical research, his claim was approved by the Lord Lyon in 2018.
The ceremony at his ancestral home was witnessed by more than 300 clansmen and women from around the world.
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They, however, are just a fraction of the clan’s members. One of the country's oldest and largest clans, dating to 1010AD, Clan Buchanan Society International has around 2,000 members scattered across the globe, and up to five million who can claim to be clansmen and women.
The documentary, produced by True TV for BBC Scotland, follows the new chief as American clan members enthusiastically hail ‘The Buchanan’ at Highland games in New Hampshire.
“I feel it’s family history that had an untold chapter that needed to be told,” he says.
“British, Scottish people don’t get terribly excited by it.
“But Americans are absolutely mad about it.”
Meet the Clan is on BBC Scotland on Tuesday (AUGUST 8) at 10pm
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