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You'll be surprised to hear how much work the Queen does at Balmoral

The Queen might be on her summer holiday at her Scottish estate Balmoral, but it’s business as usual for the 93-year-old monarch.

The Sunday Times’ royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah tells Yahoo UK’s ‘The Royal Box,’: “For her [The Queen], although it’s her great three-month-long holiday, work goes on as usual.

“She still does her red boxes every single day at Balmoral, she meets prime ministers, she meets American presidents or incoming heads of state.”

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The Queen sitting at her desk in Balmoral in 2013. [Photo: PA]
The Queen sitting at her desk in Balmoral in 2013. [Photo: PA]

The daily red boxes delivered to the Queen from the government usually contain policy and cabinet papers and other important documents, which may need to be approved and signed.

New prime minister Boris Johnson, 55, and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds, 31, have been invited to Balmoral and are expected to visit in early September.

Her Majesty’s staff also decamp from Buckingham Palace to the 50,000 acre estate during the summer months to assist her.

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The Queen in her study at Balmoral.
The Queen in her study at Balmoral in 1972. [Photo: PA]

Nikkhah says: “Her private secretaries are always up there, so the three private secretaries will rotate. There will always be a court up at Balmoral with private secretaries, press secretaries, equerries, so everything moves up.”

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, are also joined by members of the Royal Family while they’re in Balmoral, including their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Royal commentator Omid Scobie says: “It’s probably the most off-duty that she [The Queen] gets.

“I know when the grandchildren are up there, she always makes time to read less letters before lunches and so she has more time to spend with the young ones playing, teaching them horse-riding.

“It’s all about family for her, but the work does go on.”