The Queen looked in high spirits as she smiled at photographers on her way back to Balmoral
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
The dash to Balmoral is a highlight of the royal family’s calendar each year, as one of the only times that the Windsors are able to gather together as a unit. ‘Nothing has the same meaning and soul-refreshing quality that Balmoral has,’ King Charles wrote of the holiday home over five decades ago, while Princess Eugenie has previously described it as ‘the most beautiful place on earth’. Said to have been the favourite property of Queen Elizabeth II, the generations of the Firm have grown up on the estate’s 50,000 acres, with Prince Harry recalling how Prince Philip was ‘master of the barbeque’, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, taking some snapshots of the late Queen and late Duke of Edinburgh on Balmoral’s rolling hills.
Prince William, too, has reflected on a childhood spent at Balmoral, once saying that ‘a big part’ of him would always be in Scotland (where, of course, he met his future wife while at university). ‘My childhood was full of holidays, having fun in the fresh air, swimming in lochs, family barbecues with my grandfather in command – and yes, the odd midge,’ the Princess of Wales recalled.