What it’s like inside Balmoral
The castle opens up for the first time
We’re all familiar with the image of Balmoral Castle – the last home of the late Queen. And while visitors have been able to roam the grounds and go into one main room inside, up until now, most of the rest of the interiors have been off-limits, used as a personal home to the Royal Family.
However, this Monday, Balmoral threw open its doors for the first time and lucky ticket holders got to see more than anyone else has, excepting VIP guests and family. Tickets sold out instantly when they went on sale in April, despite costing a hefty £100 each - £150 if you throw in afternoon tea.
The BBC took one of the first tours and described what they saw. Starting at the entrance hall, they went into the main dining room where the King has family dinners and which has hosted prime ministers including Winston Churchill and US President Eisenhower. The tour then went into the family dining room and the drawing room – where the last official photo of the Queen was taken with Liz Truss. The tour ended at the library, which the King uses as his study, plus the ballroom – which is the room normal ticket holders get to see.
The overwhelming feeling, according to the BBC, is how homely Balmoral is – it’s very much a family home. This was echoed by our correspondent Lesley McCullaugh, who shared her experience on a standard tour, with our sister site The British Travel List. You can read the full report here.
Lesley says she was similarly surprised how much of a family home it felt. “It was so much more liveable and comfortable than I expected. It’s not a super-imposing house - apart from the clock tower, it looks like a regular stone house of the kind you see all over in Scotland,” she says. “The castle itself was smaller than I expected and seemed much cosier than the other castles and palaces, the Royal Family live and work in. I can understand how the Queen named Balmoral her favourite place in the world.”
She was especially impressed by the kitchen gardens, “as they grow so much food and also all flowers that they use to decorate the house. Through the years, the Royal Family has put a lot of themselves into the castle and estate you can see this everywhere, such as Prince Philip helping design and install the kitchen gardens, George V designing the gates and Queen Mary designing some of the garden,” Lesley says. To book, visit balmoralcastle.com
The royals visit Edinburgh
Leaving Balmoral, we're heading down to Edinburgh for this year’s Royal Week. Every year the Monarch spends a week celebrating Scottish culture in various regions of the country, plus performing investitures and hosting thousands at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This year’s was extra-special with Charles and Camilla helping to mark Edinburgh’s 900th anniversary.
Known as Royal Week in Scotland, and elsewhere as Holyrood Week, it started on Tuesday with Charles being welcomed to the capital city with the Ceremony of the Keys. Later, after separate engagements, Charles and Camilla were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at a garden party for 8,000 people.
On Wednesday, William, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, joined them for the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral. The service saw Camilla and Edward become members of the Order of the Thistle, the country’s highest honour.
Royal Week was only two days this year, due to Thursday’s general election. Which leads us neatly on to the next story…
The King welcomes new PM
Constitutional duty saw Charles at Buckingham Palace on Friday morning, meeting the victorious Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and formally asking him to create a new Government and become the new Prime Minister. This will be the King’s third UK PM and the nation’s 58th.
In two short clips, released that day, Charles greets Keir, saying: “You must be utterly exhausted and nearly on your knees.” The new PM replies with the understatement of the year: “Not much sleep.”
They met in the Audience Room on the first floor of the palace, which is within the King’s private apartments, and despite the historic occasion, it was nice to see family photos dotted around. This ceremonial meeting is called the Kissing of the Hands, but these days a firm handshake seems to do the trick. From now on, Charles and Keir will meet in this room for their weekly private Audience. Good luck, Sir Keir.
The Queen’s special garden party
One of our favourite stories this week, was the Queen’s special garden party for two children. On Monday, it was reported the Queen had welcomed Tony Hudgell and Lyla O’Donovan and their families to Buckingham Palace, last Wednesday. Both children had been unable to attend an official garden party on May 8, because of traffic problems and ill-health, so the Queen organised their own event, including watching the Changing of the Guard and a private tea party. How good is that!
Camilla then awarded Tony with his British Empire Medal. He co-founded the Tony Hudgell Foundation and at nine, became the youngest-ever recipient of a New Year Honour, for services to the prevention of child abuse. “We were all extremely honoured to have been invited to Buckingham Palace for afternoon tea with The Queen - an experience we would never have dreamed of, said Tony’s mum Paula. “Tony chatted to The Queen as if they were old friends and she was lovely with him and an exceptionally very proud moment when the Queen gave Tony his BEM.”
William scoots to it
Who knew William whizzes around Windsor on an electric scooter? Thanks to this clip supposedly filmed on Thursday, now we do. Apparently, he bought the two-wheel, 10mph e-scooter last summer, leaving him free to scoot to and from the castle from Adelaide Cottage. This time round, the Prince of Wheels was believed to be popping in to see his dad.