Balmoral Castle is located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the eastern Highlands of Scotland, within the Cairngorms National Park. It has been one of the private residences for British monarchs since Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's time. The current estate on which the castle sits covers 20,000 hectares. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Scotland in 1842 and 1844, staying at various Scottish castles. But in 1848, due to the humid climate and upon the recommendation of the queen's Scottish physician, Sir James Clark, Prince Albert rented a castle in the Balmoral neighborhood. Balmoral was always known for having one of the purest and healthiest airs in all of Scotland, as well as drier and less rainy weather than the western Highlands (Pope Humphrey, 1893: 9-15). This small castle offered them a private life away from public scrutiny, and its surroundings reminded Queen Victoria of Switzerland and Thuringia, Prince Albert's homeland, with vast pine forests. (Miers, 2012: 48-56).
In the year 1852, Prince Albert would finally purchase the Balmoral estate with its 4,451 hectares. Later in 1853, construction began on the current castle mainly due to a lack of space in the previous one and garden renovations were also carried out. Also purchased was Birkhall, an adjacent property reserved for the Prince of Wales, where his private residence would be built. The new castle drew inspiration from ancient Scottish baronial architecture or Scottish Baronial. This architectural style has two defining characteristics: the first are round turrets called pepper-pot turrets, derived from French chateaux of the 16th century. This architectural influence is inherited from Scotland's kings' proximity to France before their union with England; and the second characteristic is a large tower inspired by medieval houses with defensive towers. In the case of Balmoral Castle, this tower stands thirty meters high with a clock and flagpole flying the royal standard indicating when the monarch is in residence. However, other defining features of this architectural style include porte-cochère or carriage entrance, dormer windows, and stepped gables, achieving an appearance reminiscent of a castle from a fairy tale (R. Jones, 2005: 6-8). In the year 1855, after two years of renovations overseen by Prince Albert, the castle was ready to be partially occupied. Queen Victoria loved Balmoral more than any other of her residences, as she attested in her book "Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands" published in 1864, which includes excerpts from her diary describing her vacations in Scotland with her husband.
Each year my heart becomes more fixed to this beloved Paradise, and now even more so since everything here is the creation of my dear Albert, his own work, his own building, his own design, as at Osborne; and everywhere the stamp of his loving hand has been left.
Victoria, 2010: 111
With Prince Albert's death in 1861, ownership passed to Queen Victoria as per her husband's wishes outlined in his will. Few changes have been made to the castle since then, and any necessary alterations must not interfere with its architecture or style.
Source: (Victoria, 2010: 64)
This residence was intended for a six-week stay each year, or in autumn as a hunting lodge. However, after Prince Albert's death, Queen Victoria would spend long periods there, as it reminded her of her beloved husband. The Balmoral tartan was designed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1853 to decorate various rooms. Today, the tartan can be found throughout each room, on curtains, carpets, wallpaper, among other places (Clark, 2011: 105-115).
The Balmoral estate was a place where Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II were very happy. The Edwardian lifestyle at Balmoral during vacations involved men going out hunting on the moors early in the morning, while women joined them for lunch. For Queen Elizabeth II, the two months of the year spent at Balmoral were her happiest. She could spend hours walking through the autumn hills of the estate, remembering childhood dreams and longing for a rural landowner's life she might have had if not for being queen. Enjoying summer vacations with her grandchildren and later a refuge for Prince Charles III and Princess Diana's children when she tragically died in an August 31, 1997 car accident in France. Balmoral also became a test of character for prime ministers who had to spend a long autumn weekend at Balmoral with Queen Elizabeth II.
At the end of her days, Queen Victoria did not die in her beloved Balmoral, but during her Christmas stay at Osborne Castle on the Isle of Wight in 1901. While Elizabeth II died in this Scottish castle in September 2022 (Lacey, 2003: 287-350).
Bibliography
Humphrey, F. P. (1893). The Queen at Balmoral. London: T. Fisher Unwin Paternoster Square.
Miers, M. (2012). A Highland Paradise. Country Life, March 7, 46-56. Retrieved from: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2014/08/country-life-balmoral-march-7-2012.pdf
Clark, R. W. (2011). Balmoral: Queen Victoria's Highland Home. London: Bloomsbury reader.
Lacey, R. (2003). Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II. New York: Free Press / Simon & Schuster.
Queen Victoria. (2010). Leaves from the Journal of our Life in the Highlands from 1848 to 1861. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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