Balmoral Castle sits in the hills of Northern Scotland, near the villages of Crathie and Ballater. Only 50 miles from Aberdeen, this famous castle housed many people since it was commissioned back in 1856.
Many will recognise the Balmoral Castle as the residency of the Royal Family, especially to that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II- A place in which she loved.
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house which was bought in 1852 by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, and was later transformed into the castle that is seen today after the family outgrew the previous plot.
The estate itself covers approximately 50,000 acres of land, where the working estate homes grouse moors, farmland, herds of animal such as deer, Highland cattle, sheep and ponies. Forestry will also be found in the area.
The Balmoral Estate has long been a place of sanctuary and escape for Her Majesty, where she often travelled and spent time in, especially in her later years.
Balmoral was also the place in which Prince Philip proposed to Queen Elizabeth II and where she later had her honeymoon. In 1946 the pair spent weeks at the estate where it was then reported they were engaged, with the approval of Elizabeth’s father King George VI.
“I am sure I do not deserve all the good things which have happened to me,” Philip wrote to her Majesty. “To have been spared in the war and seen victory … to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty.”
The public have been graced with many images from The Queen’s time spent at Balmoral over the years, even into her 90’s with her beloved corgis at her side, or riding through the gardens in horse back.
In a 2016 documentary, Our Queen at Ninety, Princess Eugenie described her Grandmother (Queen Elizabeth II), stating,
“I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands,”.
In a break to tradition, the UK recently seen its latest prime minister, Liz Truss, be appointed here by Her Majesty at the castle.
This would be the last act of duty carried out by Her Majesty, as she passed away peacefully at the estate just two days later surrounded by family.
On 8th September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarchy, passed away in the place she loved so much.
