Things To Know About Queen Elizabeth And Royal’s Scottish Getaway Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle in Scotland is one of the royal residences, and is thought to be Queen Elizabeth’s favorite. While Queen Elizabeth travels to Balmoral whenever she pleases, she plans a trip each August to Balmoral Castle, and that was where she was when she received the news that Princess Diana was killed. Balmoral Castle was featured in the movie The Queen, with Hellen Mirren, which highlighted the Scottish Highlands and surrounding area of Aberdeenshire. Balmoral was the location of the infamous buck scene.
Balmoral Castle is also featured in the first season of the Netflix series, The Crown. Shooting at a variety of different locations is just one of the things that is making The Crown the most expensive series that Netflix has ever created. In addition to the cost of shooting on location is the number of actors, extras, and costuming involved in the historical series. Costume designer and dresser Michele Clapton said that taking on The Crown as a project was a huge undertaking.
“It was a daunting prospect, with 293 speaking parts, 7,000 extras, and a costume department of up to 100 people.”
From recreating Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress (which cost $40,000) to dressing nearly the full cast in tweed and kilts for the Balmoral Scotland scenes, Clapton has had her hands full in dressing the cast of the series that will last at least five seasons.
Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew, says that Balmoral Castle is “one of the most beautiful places in the world” and the place that her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth is happiest.
“I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”
Princess Eugenie explains that at Balmoral Castle, Queen Elizabeth can bring her Corgis and just relax without worrying about her royal duties and obligations.
“Walks, picnics, dogs — a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs — and people coming in and out all the time. It’s a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there, where you just have room to breathe and run.”
Balmoral Castle and that part of Scotland is a place where outdoor pursuits are the norm and August is the perfect time of year for fishing, hiking, and picnics.
Balmoral Castle was purchased by Prince Albert for his wife, Queen Victoria, as a gift in 1852 because she loved the Scottish countryside. But the original home that stood on the property was considered too small, so Queen Victoria and Prince Albert expanded in 1856 and built the Balmoral Castle that is most often photographed today. Balmoral Castle sits on 50,000 acres of land, and now includes 150 buildings in total.
If you can’t visit Balmoral Castle, you can check in with the Balmoral Castle squirrel cam to see what the Balmoral red squirrels get up to on an average day. Prince Charles, the son of Queen Elizabeth, and heir to the throne, has lent his support to a project to protect the red squirrel by sterilizing the gray squirrel and cutting their population by more than 90 percent.
Prince Charles has called for the red squirrel to be the mascot of the region and of Balmoral.
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And it’s not just Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip who spend time at Balmoral Castle each August, as Prince William, Princess Kate, and their family, plus Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were seen attending church last Sunday in Scotland at the Crathie Kirk Chapel along with Prince Andrew.
Which of Queen Elizabeth’s homes would you like to visit and tour? Would Balmoral Castle be at the top of your list?
[Featured Image by David Cheskin/Getty Images]
