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King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived at Birkhall, their private residence on the sprawling Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to begin their summer holiday. While Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II took great delight in Balmoral Castle, the grand stone mansion at the center of the 50,000 acre Scottish Highlands estate, King Charles has chosen to develop his own tradition and retreat to more modest lodgings.
Birkhall holds a very special place in the hearts of King Charles and Queen Camilla. It was here at Birkhall where the couple enjoyed their honeymoon following their civil marriage in 2005. Over the past 17 years, Birkhall has become their private getaway within the grounds of the Balmoral Estate, a place to relax and reconnect as husband and wife away from the public eye. It has truly become their “second honeymoon home”.
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Birkhall has a long tradition of hosting royal couples. As well as being a favorite of Charles and Camilla, it was also enjoyed by late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Princess Alexandra and Angus Ogilvy for private holidays over the decades.
The original Birkhall House was built in 1715 by the Farquharson clan who owned vast swaths of the surrounding Aberdeenshire land. In 1852, it was purchased as a gift for Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, to provide their son, the future King Edward VII, a Highland retreat of his own. While Edward visited just once, the royal family retained ownership of Birkhall.
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In the 1930s, King George V loaned Birkhall to the then-Duke and Duchess of York, who went on to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen’s parents. The royal couple extensively redecorated Birkhall House and its gardens. They developed a deep fondness for the property that was passed onto their daughter, Princess Elizabeth, who enjoyed summer holidays there with her sister Princess Margaret as a child. As queen, she continued the tradition of private family time at Birkhall over the decades with Prince Philip, young Prince Charles, and later Prince Andrew and Prince Edward as children.
Upon Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne in 1952, ownership of Birkhall passed to her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who was the principal caretaker of the property until her death in 2002 at the age of 101. It was then inherited by King Charles. As the new owner, Charles put his own stamp on Birkhall, especially the renowned gardens, which hold a special significance as some of the first he knew as a young boy. “It’s a special place especially because my grandmother made it,” he told Country Life magazine in 2013.
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Nestled alongside the peaceful flowing waters of the River Muick, Birkhall offers a picture of serenity and privacy highly valued by the royal family amidst their busy public roles. The sloping one-acre gardens are filled with fruits, vegetables, flower beds, and mature trees. A rope swing hangs from a giant Scots pine. King Charles takes great pride and pleasure in maintaining this little corner of Scotland himself. The home’s natural beauty and calming ambiance have cemented its place at the heart of the royal family’s Balmoral Estate experiences over generations.
Inside, Birkhall House provides eight bedrooms for royal guests looking to escape the formality and grandeur of nearby Balmoral Castle. However, it remains a fundamentally family-oriented private residence where generations of royal children have played and where Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s framed Vanity Fair prints still line the staircase in remembrance.
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As King Charles and Queen Camilla settle into their Highland hideaway for the summer holidays, surrounded by the grounds so lovingly nurtured by generations past, they can rest and recharge surrounded by happy memories and royal tradition in their Scottish oasis at Birkhall. It is here at their beloved Craignaigur honeymoon home that the new monarch and his consort find peaceful refuge to begin their new chapter as Husband and Wife, King and Queen.
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