Balmoral Castle, Here They Come!

Having welcomed Boris Johnson as Prime Minster of the UK and asked him to “Please run the country” at the beginning of last week, Queen Elizabeth took her leave for the rest of the summer to her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Balmoral Castle, apparently, is where the Royal Family can live as normal people ….do normal things…take long walks with their doggies. A lot of people say that it is the Queen’s favorite place to be and, understandably, if she feels much freer there than anywhere else.

Many of the Royal Family will plan on being there at some point over the next little while to visit the Queen and enjoy some of the relaxation with her.

The first home at Balmoral was reportedly built in 1390, but the property didn’t enter into the British royal family until 1852,  when Prince Albert purchased the estate as a gift for his beloved wife, Queen Victoria, who loved the Scottish countryside. However, when the residence was deemed too small, the royal couple built an additional castle—the one that still exists today—to fit their growing family. The new structure was completed in 1856, and the other building was torn down. Now, the 50,000-acre estate features 150 buildings in total. 

In more modern royal history, Balmoral served as the destination for Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s less-than-romantic honeymoon.  It’s also where Prince Harry and Prince William learne of their mother’s tragic death in 1997.When the Royals are in residence, the Castle is closed ot the public but they do have tours on special days in the winter and it was open, for example, from April 1 through July 31 this year.

These excerpts were taken from an article by Caroline Hallemann of Town and Country. There is lots more to learn of Balmoral. A quick “Google” will take you right there.

Now that’s living!