Connolly celebrates 60th birthday

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles today led party-goers arriving for comedian Billy Connolly’s star-studded 60th birthday bash.

The couple were joined by Prince Andrew as they arrived ahead of an expected 200 famous faces at the Big Yin’s Highland retreat.

Bob Geldof and former Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart were also among those at Candacraig House, near Strathdon, Aberdeenshire.

Accompanied by Camilla, Prince Charles drove a green Vauxhall Omega into the grounds of the palatial retreat followed by his brother, who was driving a blue Range Rover.

Film stars Steve Martin and Robin Williams were also expected to be among the guests, along with Michael Parkinson, Ewan McGregor and Dame Judi Dench.

Connolly and his wife Pamela Stephenson bought the 15-bedroom house - 16 miles from Balmoral - from Body Shop founder Anita Roddick in 1998.

The local "laird" spends every August at Candacraig when he attends the local Highland games with a posse of famous friends.

Connolly is not 60 until November, but is using his stay in the Highlands to celebrate his milestone birthday.

According to reports, Connolly has festooned the house with hundreds of yards of his clan tartan.

Guests will enjoy drinks in the grounds before going into a marquee for a lavish banquet and live entertainment.

The Big Yin became a household name in the Seventies with his irreverent brand of observational humour which drew on his hard working class background.

Born in the Anderston area of Glasgow in 1942, Connolly spoke only recently of the abuse he suffered as a child from his father.

He left school at 15 and worked as a delivery boy before becoming a welder in the Glasgow shipyards.

Connolly established himself as a comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1972, but his big break came on a 1975 edition of the Parkinson show.

He married Stephenson, his second wife, in 1986. The couple have three children.

In recent years, the comic has carved out a successful acting career, starring in films such as Deacon Brodie and Mrs Brown.