queen balmoral house

The Queen's 'happy' place is filled with Prince Philip memories – tour Balmoral Castle

The monarch traditionally spends the summer at Balmoral Castle

Lifestyle Features Editor
July 22, 2022

Her Majesty The Queen takes a few months off over summer, retreating to her Scottish bolthole, Balmoral Castle – and it's quite the holiday home!

SEE: Inside the Queen's home at Buckingham Palace

The monarch spent a lot of time there with her late husband Prince Philip, and as such the property is full of sweet family memories.

WATCH: Archive footage of the Queen enjoying the Balmoral gardens 

From the Duke of Edinburgh's vegetable garden to the seven-bedroom Craigowan Lodge where the couple used to stay before moving into the main house, it will no doubt bring back thoughts of yesteryear for the monarch.

Take a look inside Balmoral Castle, which is privately owned by the royal family and was previously described as a "paradise in the Highlands" by the Queen herself…

Balmoral's Garden

Balmoral has stunning grounds 

The Balmoral Estate covers around 50,000 acres and the monarch shared a look at the grounds with a photo taken in 1972. It showed herself and Prince Philip in a wild field with long grass and yellow flowers with Highland Cattle and a stone structure behind them.

The large greenhouses are often admired by visitors 

The Duke of Edinburgh left a legacy at the property in the form of a large kitchen garden, which is harvested between August and October during the royal family's summer holiday. He also added vegetable patch adjoining Queen Mary's flower garden and a water garden to the south west of the Castle.

There are crops grown on the land 

There is also a range of Victorian glasshouses and a large conservatory within the gardens, which displays flowering pot plants throughout the year.

SEE: Private royal gardens UNVEILED: Prince William, Kate Middleton and more

Balmoral's Garden Cottage

There's a sweet cottage on site 

This Garden Cottage sits within the grounds of Balmoral and was used at times by Queen Victoria for taking her breakfast and writing diaries. The monarch famously called Balmoral a "paradise in the Highlands" and wrote in her diary: "All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils."

MORE: The sweet sentimental touches in royal homes

Balmoral's Drawing Room

Her Majesty held an audience with General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the Governor-General of Australia in September 2017. The meeting was held in the drawing room of Balmoral Castle, which has a green colour scheme with carpets, curtains and sofas in complementing tones, and offset by wooden furnishings and luxurious gold accents. A traditional log burning fire sits at the centre of the room, while an antique clock sits in front of a mirror above it.

RELATED: Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla's house where Princess Anne was born – inside

The room appeared to be almost identical back in 1976, with the same sofa, framed photos and wooden side table.

The decor hasn't changed much 

MORE: 16 jaw-dropping royal living rooms: Zara Tindall, Meghan Markle, more

Balmoral's study

The Queen has a grand looking study 

Another room, where the Queen met Canadian Governor General Designate Julie Payette, has a similar colour carpet, with bookshelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling. An electric heater has been positioned in front of the fire, and a flat-screen TV can be seen in the background for when the Queen and Prince Philip want to relax.

DISCOVER: The Queen's surprisingly laid-back dinner etiquette at Balmoral

A photo taken in 1972 reveals the Queen's study featured tartan carpets, floral curtains and a wooden desk that sat in a bay window.

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