Balmoral: Inside the Queen’s summer home as she heads off on holiday

Queen 'given welcoming ceremony at Balmoral' says expert

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The Queen has two major breaks in her working year: Christmas at Sandringham, and summer at Balmoral.

At Balmoral, there are a number of leisurely activities that usually take place, from fishing to shooting to the annual Ghillies Ball.

The Ghillies Ball has taken place every year, except for 2020, since Queen Victoria’s reign.

It takes place in the Castle Ballroom, which is the largest room in the castle.

On display, there is artwork by Landseer and Carl Haag and statues designed by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm.

There is also a display of artifacts from within the castle, and the ballroom is still used by the Royal Family today.

Underneath the carpet, there is the original wooden floor, and it has never been replaced from the original material.

The current castle was built in 1855, and Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert helped design the landscape.

Aberdeen architect William Smith assisted the prince, and the castle quickly became the Scottish home to the Royal Family.

The Ballroom Exhibition is the only room in the Castle available for viewing.

Most other rooms within the Castle are The Queen’s private rooms so are not available to view by the public.

In the Portcullious there is an original Phateon Carriage, which is originally from the estate and would have been used to transport ghillies, guests and The Royal Family.

The gardens were originally created by Prince Albert, but since the Victorian era, they have been expanded and improved by the modern Royal Family.

Queen Mary, the wife of George V, added a semi-circular wall of rocks guarding a fountain between 1923 and 1925.

This is why the gates to the garden have the monograms GR and MR to pay homage to the King and Queen from this time period.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, extended the gardens to incorporate a large kitchen garden. This vegetable garden is harvested between August and October when the Queen stays at Balmoral for her annual summer.

The formal gardens are massive and cover three acres.

They contain a range of Victorian glasshouses and a conservatory with lots of different flowerpots.

A water garden has been implemented in recent years adjacent to the main garden and sits within the trees between Garden Cottage and the West Drive.

Also within Balmoral is Garden Cottage, where Queen Victoria would sometimes take breakfast, deal with State correspondence and journal in her infamous diaries.

The original cottage was a wooden building, completed in 1863 but by 1894 the wooden cottage had fallen into disrepair and was demolished.

The present stone cottage was completed in 1895 and can be used to view the water garden.

This will be the Queen’s first summer at Balmoral without her husband Prince Philip.

The last time Queen Elizabeth was at Balmoral without Prince Philip was when she herself was a princess.

It holds a special place in the Queen’s heart as it is the castle where Prince Philip proposed to her.

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