Spread across 50,000 acres, Balmoral Castle, located in Scotland’s Aberdeenshire was the Queen’s summer holiday residence since she was a child. The isolated retreat allowed her to relax and ‘be normal’ away from public life, making it one of her favourite places in the world
Queen Elizabeth II had many houses to her name, but the fact that she “passed away peacefully” at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland is fitting.
Balmoral is one of the six residences the Queen called home during her seven-decade reign and this structure is replete with royal history, architectural significance and political heft. On Tuesday, just two days before her passing away, she appointed Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, from Balmoral, instead of travelling to Buckingham Palace for the occasion.
The castle in the Highlands has often been called as the place where the Queen was “most happy” as the structure spread across 50,000 acres offered her and the royal family a life outside the public eye.
Here’s a deep dive into Balmoral Castle, the beautiful and historical structure, where she breathed her last.
Balmoral Castle’s history
Balmoral has been in the royal family since 1845, when Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, purchased the castle and the surrounding 7,000-acre estate, located in Aberdeenshire in the Scottish Highlands.
Balmoral Castle is far away from any noisy neighbours and is located in the picturesque countryside of Aberdeenshire. It’s not completely isolated –the village of Crathie is six miles away and Inverness is just under two hours away. The nearest train station and airport are in Aberdeen
Balmoral Castle is an example of Scottish baronial architecture and has been classified by Historic Environment Scotland as a category A listed building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly afterwards.
It remains private property of the Queen and is not part of the Crown Estate. This means that the property will pass down through this current Royal Family, and will remain their private property.
It is a working estate, including grouse moors, forestry and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies.
Incidentally, Balmoral is also where Prince Harry and Prince William learned of mother’s (Princess Diana) tragic death in 1997.
A general view of Balmoral Castle, in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire. Balmoral is one of the six residences the Queen called home during her seven-decade reign. AP
Inside Balmoral
There are reportedly a whopping 52 bedrooms inside Balmoral, as well as a large number of reception rooms, including the one where the monarch often received guests for official visits.
It is said to be decorated in a rather traditional manner and there’s plenty of wooden furniture, as well as the iconic green carpet and green couches that have appeared in plenty of official and personal snaps over the years.
The castle sits on 50,000 acres; the estate is made up of a combination of formal gardens, green spaces, and a working estate, which includes forestry land, farmland, and an array of animals, including deer, Highland cattle, and ponies.
The formal gardens cover three acres and there’s an array of glasshouses within the grounds, as well as a water garden, and of course, the front lawn up to the castle itself.
Also located on the grounds is Craigowan Lodge, a mile away from the main house. It is a seven-bedroom home, and was often used during Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship when the pair visited Balmoral.
It was at Balmoral that Prince Philip proposed to Queen Elizabeth II. AFP
Queen’s special place
Balmoral Castle, where the Queen spent her summers from August until October, is widely thought to be the monarch’s favourite residence. As Princess Eugenie, one of her grandchildren, said in the documentary Our Queen at Ninety, “I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”
The isolated property served as a refuge for the Queen since childhood when she would visit her grandparents King George V and Queen Mary as a small child.
Marion Crawford wrote in her biography The Little Princesses that Balmoral was the one place she could be a normal child. “They looked forward to it all year round. It tended to be the chief landmark in their calendar.”
The place earned a special place in her heart as it was where Prince Philip proposed to her at the age of 19. It was in the summer of 1946 that the young prince spent several weeks at Balmoral, and reportedly proposed Elizabeth there. Elizabeth’s father King George VI agreed to the union, and the couple’s joy was palpable.
Once married and becoming a mother to four — Charles, Anne, Edward and Andrew — Balmoral became their summer vacation home where the Royal Family could just be themselves away from the public life and live away from the cameras.
As Lord Lichfield, a former photographer for the family, said in 1972, “While at Balmoral, the royals act as normal people — to a point. Lunch is always outdoors and they are outside every day going on expeditions.”
Balmoral quickly became a place for the Queen and her family to relax and unwind and even in her later years, she loved being at the Scottish retreat.
Those close to her have recounted her love for the home and the area. “It’s the wide open spaces. No distractions, no aeroplanes, no noise, no traffic. Just this lovely estate where she can freely roam everywhere,” the late Sir Malcolm Ross, former Comptroller of the Royal Household, had told the BBC. “She can relax, with her dogs, just doing what she thought normal people did, and indeed what normal people do.”
Balmoral Castle provided the Royal Family an opportunity to live as normal people away from the prying eyes of the press. AP
However, even as the Queen loved Balmoral, it was often described as freaky and surreal by others.
Margaret Thatcher reportedly referred to the estate as “purgatory”, while John Major found the bagpipes that played every morning to be endlessly frustrating as he tried to make phone calls to other world leaders.
Tony Blair has described his annual visits to Balmoral as “a vivid combination of the intriguing, the surreal and the utterly freaky”.
But despite what others said and her deteriorating health, she couldn’t be kept away from Balmoral and breathed her last there in the presence of her family — Charles and Anne were present.
With inputs from agencies
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