Royal family’s most private home opened to the public – but it’ll cost you

Take a tour of the royal family's beloved holiday home

Nestled in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, Balmoral Castle has held a fond place in the hearts of the British Royal Family for generations. The estate is personally owned by King Charles III and has long served as a summer residence, offering a private retreat for the royals to unwind away from the spotlight.

However, it's recently been revealed that the royal sanctuary will open its doors to the public this summer for the first time, with visitors given an exclusive glimpse inside its hallowed walls – though it comes at a cost.

Read on to step inside the beloved castle and discover its fascinating history...

The royal residence opens its doors for the first time

In April 2024, it was announced that the public would be admitted inside the private living quarters of Balmoral Castle for the very first time since the castle was completed in 1856. Previously, fee-paying guests were only given access to the estate's ballroom.

Despite the eyebrow-raising £100 ($126) price tag per person – or £150 ($189) if you want afternoon tea – fans of the royals jumped at the chance to see inside.

Such was the demand that the website crashed as tickets were snapped up in less than 24 hours. Passes were limited to 40 per day from 1 July to 4 August, meaning King Charles added almost £140,000 ($177k) to the royal coffers in just one day.

A rare glimpse inside the historic home

While access to the gardens continues to be available – for a relatively modest £17.50 ($22) – the now sold-out interior guided tour will take visitors on a historical journey through a selection of rooms that are used by the King and Queen and the wider royal family.

The drawing room in which the late Queen Elizabeth II was last photographed (pictured here) is expected to be included, along with two dining rooms, the page's lobby and the red corridor. Children will not be permitted, presumably to prevent little fingers from damaging the rare and expensive furnishings.

Balmoral is said to have been the late Queen's favourite place on earth – let's find out why...

The castle home the Queen loved best

Ever since childhood, the late Queen Elizabeth II found comfort and peace on her Balmoral Estate in Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She made many fond memories at the castle as a young mother and then as a grandmother and great-grandmother.

Fittingly, the much-loved monarch died at Balmoral Castle in September 2022, with her two eldest children –  King Charles III and Princess Anne – by her side. However, the history of the home stretches much further back than the late Queen's reign.

The history of Balmoral

Balmoral Castle was built as a royal hunting lodge in 1390 and has been the Scottish home of the royal family since it was bought for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852 for £32,000, the equivalent of around £3.7 million ($4.7m) today. Soon after, they decided the existing house was too small, so the royal couple commissioned architect William Smith to create the current Balmoral Castle.

Prince Albert became personally involved in the design, suggesting changes to bring the plans up to the royal standard. The new castle was completed in 1856.

Queen Victoria's beloved retreat

This photo of Queen Victoria was taken in the grounds of Balmoral in 1868. The monarch stands at the front of the group, wearing the mourning dress she donned following her husband's death at the age of just 42 in 1861. Victoria is accompanied by five of her nine children, including the future King Edward VII, who is sporting a kilt and sporran.

The formidable monarch reportedly enjoyed taking long walks around the estate and painting and sketching the picturesque scenery.

Bucolic pastimes

This diary entry written by Victoria in September 1850 gives us a flavour of her life at Balmoral:

"A showery morning, & we could not walk as far as we wished. Everything is so enjoyable here, every little walk seems full of interest; the scenery, the good simple people, besides the almost constant interest of sport, either in the shape of birds, or deer, or roe."

She is pictured here at Balmoral in 1868 with her ghillie – a Gaelic term for an outdoor servant – John Brown. He served the queen for 34 years and their close friendship has been well documented.

Passed down through the generations

After Queen Victoria died in 1901, Balmoral passed to her son King Edward VII, and then on to his son George V, who is pictured here doting over a young Princess Elizabeth in her pram at Balmoral in 1927. Upon George's death, the castle was inherited by George VI (far left), Queen Elizabeth II's father.

Long beloved as a private home in which the royals could retreat from official life and relax, it's no wonder Balmoral continues to hold such a special place in the hearts of the family.

A family favourite

Queen Elizabeth II had been a constant visitor to Balmoral since she was a child with her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. They're seen here with Princess Margaret visiting a nearby estate during one of their Balmoral holidays, with King George recording the day on his cine camera.

The young family would make the journey from London each summer, which became a tradition that the Queen continued with her own family.

Carrying on the tradition

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, Charles inherited Balmoral as the new monarch. The King is seen here planting a tree with his mother in the castle's grounds back in 2021.

However, the monarch also has his own private holiday bolthole on the estate called Birkhall. King Charles and Queen Camilla stayed at Birkhall for their honeymoon and have celebrated almost all their wedding anniversaries there ever since.

Balmoral today

Today, the castle is a fine example of Scottish baronial architecture and is classified as a category A-listed building. The grounds are open to the public between the months of April and August when guests can stroll through the gardens and look around the castle's grand ballroom. However, the recently announced interior tours are the first time the private quarters will have been opened to the public.

Balmoral does not belong to the Crown Estate like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, which means it is personally owned by King Charles III.

The grounds

Balmoral offers breathtaking views of the highland landscape and has a bounty of natural wonders to marvel at, from forests, valleys and arable pastures to beautiful landscaped gardens.

There are also 150 buildings on the estate, including Birkhall, the much-loved holiday home of the King, Craigowan Lodge and several other cottages.

Craigowan Lodge

As the late Queen advanced in age, she opted to spend a lot more time at Craigowan Lodge, the stone cottage where she liked to stay when the castle was open to the public.

According to the Scottish Daily Express, a new hi-tech security system was completed in July 2022, and the installation of a Stiltz lift at the seven-bedroom house was intended to address the mobility issues that had affected her in her final months.

Vacationing on the Balmoral Estate

Craigowan Lodge is far from the only holiday cottage on the estate. Glas-allt-Shiel (pictured) was built in its present form by Queen Victoria, who occasionally took refuge there following the death of her husband.

To help towards the upkeep of the castle, the King allows holidaymakers to rent many of the quaint cottages and larger lodges. The lodgings range from the bijou Tigh na Garaidh Cottage, which sleeps four people, to Garbh Allt Shiel and Connachat Cottage, which each sleep up to eight people.

The gardens

Visitors can admire Balmoral's breathtaking three-acre formal gardens, which are home to a number of ornate Victorian glasshouses and a conservatory. Elsewhere, a tranquil water garden sits to the west of the main garden.

The gardens were established by Prince Albert and have been improved by various members of the royal family over the years. Prince Philip added a kitchen garden with a vegetable patch that is harvested during the royals' summer holiday.

More recently, King Charles III has announced new additions to the gardens, which will include redesigned landscaping, topiary hedges and two mazes.

A working estate

Meanwhile, the land surrounding the castle is primarily used for deer stalking, grouse shooting, forestry and farming. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are pictured here visiting some of the livestock in 1972.

Balmoral offered a much more rural way of life than the Queen's other royal residences including Windsor Castle, which became her main residence in the latter stages of her life.

Activities for everyone

Queen Elizabeth loved the freedom of Balmoral and – after being woken by bagpipes each morning at 9am – she enjoyed horse riding, walking her dogs across the moors and driving her beloved Range Rover over the rugged terrain during her summer break.

These days, the next generation of royals is said to particularly enjoy fishing, hunting and barbecuing at the estate. In fact, Prince George reportedly watched his first grouse shoot at Balmoral.

Picnics in the grounds

Picnics are said to be a particularly popular Balmoral pastime – for the public and royals alike. The family "trundle off in the Range Rover for a candlelit picnic dinner in one of the wooden huts, which were built for Queen Victoria", royal expert Ingrid Seward told Ok! Magazine. They even transport their picnics in a special carrier designed by Prince Philip.

The spectacular grounds clearly provide plenty of amusement for all, but let's take a look inside the castle...

Inside Balmoral: the library

The library is where the monarch welcomes visiting dignitaries for a private audience in a relaxed environment. This desk and red leather chair have remained in the library since the 1970s, which is where the late Queen, seen in this photograph from 1976, did her work.

The crown motif fabric seen on this sofa has since been used to upholster cushions for the regal room. It is estimated the library holds around 50,000 books and manuscripts collected by British monarchs over the centuries.

Inside Balmoral: the library

Balmoral is filled with all the creature comforts of a regular home – as we can see from this photo taken back in 2017.

This rare glimpse inside the library shows an electric convection heater for the cold winters and a Samsung TV complete with a Sky box – evidently even the royals tune into their favourite programmes while away on holiday.

Inside Balmoral: the library

These days, the furniture in the library has been rearranged, as we can see from this 2022 photo, although the bones of the room remain the same.

In fact, some of the books are said to have occupied the same position on the bookshelves for more than 40 years. The tomes include the work of Sir William Fraser, a solicitor and notable expert in ancient Scottish history, palaeography and genealogy.

Inside Balmoral: the drawing room

Just like the library, this formal drawing room where the monarch welcomes official guests has hardly changed over the years. In this image from 1976, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip sit beneath a painting of Queen Victoria with John Brown, her close friend and confidant. It was painted at Osborne House by Sir Edwin Landseer.

The painting takes pride of place on the wall to the right of the fireplace and remains there to this day.

Inside Balmoral: the drawing room

This image shows the extent to which Queen Elizabeth II preserved the room's original décor during her tenure. Photographed in 2005, the two-seater sofas are all covered in the same green fabric and finished with traditional skirting, while the fern-patterned chairs and wallpaper also remain untouched.

Unlike other rooms in the castle, which boast tartan carpets in the royal family's official plaid, this formal room has a plainer, more muted look.

Inside Balmoral: the drawing room

As we can see from this 2014 photograph, little had changed in the drawing room almost a decade later when the Queen met with the then-Governor-General of Australia.

The white figurine candlestick holders on the mantelpiece date back to the reign of Queen Victoria in the mid-1800s. The national flower of Scotland, the thistle, decorates the inside of the fireplace.

Inside Balmoral: Queen Victoria's bedroom

While it's highly unlikely that visitors will be shown any of the royal bedrooms during the public tour of Balmoral, this image gives us a peek at one of the most intimate rooms in the castle.

This photo of Queen Victoria's bedroom was taken during her early widowhood, sometime in the early 1860s. Note the portrait of the late Prince Albert hanging on the bedhead, presumably so the widowed Queen could continue to lie beside her beloved husband.

Getting to Balmoral

To visit the historic estate, public visitors will have to drive or take the train from Edinburgh to either Pitlochry or Aberdeen, which takes up to two and a half hours. From there, a taxi ride is the only way to reach the remote castle – but it's clearly worth the journey.

Meanwhile, the royal family tends to travel by plane to Balmoral. They usually charter their own private aircraft, travelling via helicopter or the RAF Voyager Vespina. This small BAe 146 jet carried the Queen Mother for one of her last visits to Scotland in 2001.

Frequent family visits

Despite – or perhaps because of – the estate's remote location, it's said to have been enormously popular with the entire royal family over the decades. In a tradition that continues to this day, the family often visits the reigning monarch during summer stays at the property, as well as celebrating key milestones at the estate.

Princess Diana and the then Prince Charles even spent a portion of their honeymoon at Balmoral in 1981, staying at Craigowan Lodge, the rustic stone house not far from the castle that the late Queen Elizabeth used in her latter years.

Putting duty first

Notably, the final photographs of the Queen were taken in the drawing room of Balmoral Castle, a couple of days before her death. Though frail, she looked alert and cheerful.

Busy right up to the last, the Queen was determined to carry out her duty to appoint Liz Truss as the new prime minister and is pictured here with the former leader.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, passed away at Balmoral on 8 September 2022.

Most beautiful place on earth

The late Queen is captured here on the estate with Prince Philip in 1972 in the year of their Silver Wedding anniversary. Balmoral was said to be her favourite corner of the world.

“It’s the most beautiful place on Earth. I think Granny is most happy there,” her granddaughter Princess Eugenie said, speaking on the ITV programme Our Queen at Ninety.

Now that the castle has opened its doors to visitors, the public can enjoy the beloved royal residence too.

A friendlier future for the royal residences

It's widely understood that King Charles has long wanted to make the royal residences more accessible to the public and the enormous popularity of the new Balmoral tours may see them extended beyond 2024.

Just days after the revelation that Balmoral would be welcoming visitors inside, it was announced that the newly renovated East Wing of Buckingham Palace is set to open to the public this summer. After five years of work costing a staggering £369 million ($466m), the tours will no doubt prove equally as popular as Balmoral's.

We can't wait to see which of the King's many homes will be the next to open its doors...