David Cameron misses the Queen's Highland Games, again The royal couple are, traditionally, joined by the prime minister of the day for a weekend in September. Often, it takes place while the Braemar Gathering, of which the Queen is chieftain, takes place. The games feature such events as tossing the caber and Highland dancing. She wrote, controversially, in her memoirs about the couple's visits to the Highlands. She said their son Leo had been conceived during one of their stays after she left her "contraceptive equipment" in London. When Mrs Blair invited the Princess Royal to call her "Cherie," Anne had replied: "Actually, I prefer Mrs Blair." Last year, Cameron and his wife, Samantha, chose not to take their son and two daughters with them to Balmoral. Gordon and Sarah Brown, by contrast, delighted the monarch by arriving with their two young sons in tow. The chats Brown had with the Queen about the agonies and ecstasies of parenthood reportedly helped them to "bond." In 2010, Cameron cancelled the annual trip after his daughter Florence was born prematurely. At the time, the Queen was said to have "understood." A highlight of the trip is a barbecue that is cooked on the estate by Prince Philip. "The royals cook and serve the guests," an incredulous Blair recalled in his memoirs. They do the washing up. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. They put the gloves on and stick their hands in the sink.