Balmoral, where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away yesterday afternoon, was one of her favourite places to be. Queen Elizabeth inherited Queen Victoria’s love of the castle, and its surrounding estate, spending up to two months at her Highland retreat every summer throughout her long reign, with childhood visits before that.
I had the good fortune of spending five long summers at Balmoral as a former employee of the Queen, so find it easy to understand why Her Majesty loved this special area of Scotland so much. I have travelled to many countries since I left the royal household 12 years ago, but I have never seen a place as beautiful as Balmoral.
Past prime ministers have been delightfully surprised at the informality of these unstaffed barbecues which the Queen and Prince Philip hosted
The castle – set in 50,000 acres of beautiful Scottish countryside, 500 miles from the bright lights and long lenses of London – offered the Queen a rare thing: an escape from the royal bubble.
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