King Charles is bracing for a “quiet” and well-deserved summer holiday in Scotland, which will have a twist compared to how they were usually spent by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth. The King has had a busy summer so far, after he hosted a series of Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace and at Holyrood House, attended various high-profile events like Trooping the Colour and Royal Ascot and even hosted French president Emmanuel Macron earlier this month.

However, shortly, the monarch is set to head to Scotland, where he will spend his summer holidays with other members of the Royal Family at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands. The estate was the late Queen’s favourite residence, and she passed away there in September 2022.

But this year, like last, Balmoral will be open to the public, and thus, the King will likely choose to spend his time at another beloved residence on the estate, Birkhall.

Birkhall is where Charles and Camilla stayed after Elizabeth’s death. A former royal member of staff has previously spoken about the King’s summer holidays in Balmoral.

Paul Burrell, who worked for Queen Elizabeth as a footman and served as Princess Diana’s butler until her death in 1997, said on behalf of Slingo: “The King is now in a position where he has to do certain things.

“[He] is carrying on his mother’s traditions, so there will be the Garden Parties, there will be things he has to do like go to Holyroodhouse, he has to spend a week every year in the official residence of the monarch in Scotland, which most people think is Balmoral Castle.”

“So this summer is quite active, and then he’ll rest at the end of the summer. He will do what his mother did.”

Paul continued: “He will go to Balmoral, although this year is going to be different because he loves Birkhall. That’s his Granny’s house on the Balmoral estate. He loves it there because it’s smaller, it’s quiet, it’s cosy.”

He added about Balmoral being open to the public since last year:

“[It is] what the Queen didn’t want during her reign. She resisted, she said she never wanted Balmoral to be open to the public.

“That was the only home she had that was not open to the public. She said it would ‘stay that way as long as I’m Queen’.”