Jimmy Fallon’s Unexpected Balmoral Encounter That Ended Inside the Royal Guard’s Private Quarters.NH

Jimmy Fallon‘s recent solo trip to Scotland was one for the books. The host of the Tonight Show recounted his adventure, which included him becoming a guest of the Royal Guard, in an Instagram video shared on Oct. 19. The TV personality began his story, explaining that he set off for Scotland by himself because his wife was working and their kids were in school. Jimmy revealed that he had always wanted to go on one of those luxury trains, so he spent one night aboard the Royal Scotsman. After getting off the train, with no real plan, his driver took him to the house of one of his favorite comedians, Billy Connolly, and Balmoral Castle.

“So, here’s where the story gets crazy,” Jimmy said in the video. “My friend, Eddie Burns, back in the states, I told him I’m going to Scotland. He said: ‘I’m Scottish! My great-grandfather is Scottish.'” Jimmy told his pal to give him something of his and that he would throw it in the water or bury it somewhere in Scotland.

“And so I took his tie clip [from the NYPD],” Jimmy shared, before pointing out that “right next to Balmoral is the River Dee… Shout-out to Eddie, I threw the tie clip into the river. And I said: ‘There you go, Eddie, you will live there forever in the River Dee.'” After tossing the tie clip into the river, Jimmy turned around and saw “four armed Royal Guards staring” at him. They came up to him and asked what he was doing. “I go, ‘A little littering,'” Jimmy told them. The guards then recognized who he was, and Jimmy offered to buy them a drink at his hotel, The Fife Arms. While they declined, the guards told the late-night host that maybe they’d have him over for dinner.

The next day at his hotel, Jimmy received a call with an invitation from the Royal Guard for a black-tie dinner, for which he ended up borrowing a kilt from the hotel’s night manager. After thanking the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Jimmy recalled: “I went to the officers’ mess, Victoria Barracks. And I showed up there. They were psyched I was wearing a kilt. We had the best dinner ever.” He also revealed that the hat, a Glengarry, that he was wearing to tell the story was given to him that evening. “I was so thankful and touched,” he said. At the dinner, Jimmy complimented them on their “amazing” kilts, and Sergeant Cooper left to make him one of his own.

“I’m just so grateful, thankful for everyone for being so nice in Scotland. I’m not Scottish. I’m not pretending to be Scottish, but I feel like, right now, I might be the most Scottish person in Scotland,” Jimmy remarked at the end of the video, which he captioned: “Sometimes no plan is the best plan. Getting lost in the Highlands in Scotland ended up with me being a guest of the Royal Guard. Sent from the banks of the Clunie.”