Queen Elizabeth II’s love for her home at Balmoral, Royal Teesside, is well known.
She spent most of her summers with her husband Philip and family on their 50,000 acre estate in Aberdeenshire.
He enjoyed many holidays at Balmoral Castle, surrounded by countryside, from when he was a child with his grandfather, King George V, and grandmother, Queen Mary, until the final months of his life.
He hosted numerous royal garden parties there. At the nearby Braemar Highland sports ground, he enjoyed watching many events with other members of the royal family.
The Queen spent much of Prince Philip’s last few years with him at Balmoral. They stayed together during the curfew. They celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary there in November 2020.
Balmoral has been one of the residences of Britain’s royal family since 1852, when the estate and its castle were purchased from the Farquharson family by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. After that, the house looked very small. The present day Balmoral Fort was then built.
The castle itself is an example of baronial architecture in Scotland. Also, this building is classified as an ‘A’ listed building by Historic Environment Scotland. This new fort was completed in 1856. After some time the old fort was demolished.
Also, it is not part of the Crown Estate. It is the personal property of the Queen.
It is a Red Grouse hunting area, forestry and farmland, as well as an estate with managed deer, highland cattle and ponies.
The royal family was at Balmoral when Princess Diana died on 31 August 1997. It initially became the center of repercussions.
On the Sunday morning of her death, the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry attended a church service at nearby Crathie Kirk.
When they returned home, they visited the floral tributes and messages left by the public.
Here are some pictures of the Queen and her family at Balmoral over the years: