Balmoral has shut up shop for the season as the royal estate prepares for the arrival of The King.
His Majesty is expected to spend several weeks at his Scottish estate with Queen Camilla.
The couple have a home at nearby Birkhall but Balmoral is where they are joined by the Royal Family for the summer.
The holidays proper won’t start until next week at the earliest as Their Majesties are set to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War Two on August 15th.
The King and Queen will be at a national service of remembrance on the day and will meet veterans afterwards.
King Charles has already spent some time in Scotland this summer as he carried out engagements.
Queen Camilla was reported to be enjoying a private holiday in the sun. The couple usually have separate breaks at some point in the summer before heading to Balmoral together.
The estate, in Aberdeenshire, welcomed its last paying customers on August 10th. It’s had a busy season and finished with one of its family weekends which saw eager visitors head to the Squirrel Trail.
Now, it’s back to its usual business as a royal home.
Balmoral has been a private residence of the Monarch since the 19th century when Prince Albert bought the land and the older home then on it as a retreat for him and Queen Victoria as their own family grew. He commissioned a new home and Victoria loved it so much, she continued to use it as a main house even after Albert’s death.
A recent book and TV programme claimed that it was while she was at Balmoral that she secretly married her servant, John Brown, as the Church of Scotland doesn’t publish banns so a private wedding could take place.
It was also a favourite home of Queen Elizabeth II who spent the last months of her life there. In September 2022 she appointed the final Prime Minister of her reign at Balmoral. A famous photo of her taken as she waited for Liz Truss to arrive became the last public image of Elizabeth II. She died at Balmoral on September 8 2022. It was at Balmoral that her son became King Charles III.
It’s expected that King Charles will spend the anniversary of his mother’s death and his own accession at Balmoral before he heads back to Windsor. He is set to welcome US President Donald Trump on an historic State Visit there on September 17th.