AFTER ENCHANTING GENERATIONS OF ROYALS BALMORAL CASTLE OPENS FOR ITS FIRST PUBLIC TOURS

It was Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite home and the place where she felt happiest – and was where she spent the final weeks of her life.

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Now visitors will be able to explore the interior of the former monarch’s summer retreat when Balmoral Castle opens for extensive public tours for the first time in its history.

Priced at £100 each, or £150 with afternoon tea, tickets to see the King’s private Highland residence sold out within 24 hours of going on sale. Visitors will be treated to guided tours of the castle, including rooms used by the royal family when they stay there, and numbers will be limited to 40 people per day, with ten in each group.

Public opening will take place between 1 July and 4 August, shortly before the King and Queen arrive for their summer break.

As well as the castle, Buckingham Palace’s East Wing, which includes the façade featuring the central balcony where the royal family gather for special occasions, is also to have its debut public opening this summer.

The King has long wanted to give the public greater access to royal residences and the announcements are sure to excite royal fans, who were also able to visit St James’s Palace for the first time following His Majesty’s accession.

A HOME THROUGH HISTORY

Balmoral has been enjoyed by the royal family since 1852, when Prince Albert bought it as a gift for Queen Victoria. Its original castle, however, was deemed too small and a new one was commissioned and completed four years later. An example of Scottish baronial architecture, it is classified as a category A listed building by Historic Environment Scotland for having special architectural or historical interest.