Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle (/bælˈmɒrəl/) is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, 9 miles (14 km) west of Ballater and 50 miles (80 km) west of Aberdeen.
For several ships of this name, see Union-Castle Line.Balmoral Castle
Completed
Royal residence
Balmoral Estate
Ballater
AB35 5TB
1853
1856
30.48 m (100 ft 0 in) (Great Tower)
Largely two- and three-storey
John Thomas (Sculptor)
M Stuart
Balmoral Castle with Parterre and Terrace Walls
12 March 2010
LB51460[1]
Balmoral Castle
1 July 1987
GDL00045[2]
The estate and its original castle were bought from the Farquharson family in 1852 by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Soon afterwards the house was found to be too small and the current Balmoral Castle was commissioned. The architect was William Smith of Aberdeen, and his designs were amended by Prince Albert. Balmoral remains the private property of the monarch and is not part of the Crown Estate. It was the summer residence of Elizabeth II, who died there on 8 September 2022.[3]
The castle is an example of Scottish baronial architecture, and is classified by Historic Environment Scotland as a category A listed building.[1] The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly thereafter.
The Balmoral Estate has been added to by successive members of the royal family, and now covers an area of approximately 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares). It is a working estate, including grouse moors, forestry and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, sheep and ponies.
Etymology[edit]
Balmoral is pronounced /bælˈmɒrəl/ or sometimes locally /bəˈmɒrəl/.[4] It was first recorded as 'Bouchmorale' in 1451, and it was pronounced [baˈvɔrəl] by local Scottish Gaelic speakers.[4] The first element in the name is thought to be the Gaelic both, meaning "a hut", but the second part is uncertain.[5] Adam Watson and Elizabeth Allan wrote in The Place Names of Upper Deeside that the second part meant "big spot (of ground)".[4] Alexander MacBain suggested this was originally the Pictish *mor-ial, "big clearing" (c.f. Welsh mawr-ial).[6] Alternatively, the second part could be a saint's name.[7]
Balmoral (c. 1890–1900)
Memorial cairn for Prince Albert, Balmoral Estate
Queen Victoria's Business Room at Balmoral
Ownership[edit]
Balmoral is private property and, unlike the monarch's official residences, is not the property of the Crown. It was originally purchased privately by Prince Albert, for Queen Victoria, meaning that no revenues from the estate go to Parliament or the public purse, as would otherwise be the case for property owned outright by the monarch by the Civil List Act 1760.[44] Along with Sandringham House in Norfolk, ownership of Balmoral was inherited by Edward VIII on his accession in 1936. When he abdicated later the same year, however, he retained ownership of them. A financial settlement was devised, under which Balmoral and Sandringham were purchased by Edward's brother and successor to the Crown, George VI.[45]
Elizabeth II inherited the Balmoral estate from her father, and then after her death, ownership passed to her eldest son King Charles III, but the estate is managed by trustees under Deeds of Nomination and Appointment.[44]
Estate[edit]
Extent and operation[edit]
Balmoral Estate is within the Cairngorms National Park and is partly within the Deeside and Lochnagar National Scenic Area.[46] The 50,000-acre (20,000-hectare) estate contains a wide variety of landscapes, from the Dee river valley to open mountains. There are seven Munros (hills in Scotland over 3,000 ft or 914.4 m) within the estate, the highest being Lochnagar at 3,789 ft (1,155 m). This mountain was the setting for a children's story, The Old Man of Lochnagar, told originally by Prince Charles to his younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The story was published in 1980, with royalties accruing to The Prince's Trust.[12]: 35–51 [47] The estate also incorporates the 7,500-acre (3,000-hectare) Delnadamph Lodge estate, bought by Elizabeth II in 1978.[48]
In popular culture[edit]
Parts of the films Mrs Brown (1997) and The Queen (2006) were based on events at Balmoral. In both films, substitute locations were used: Blairquhan Castle in The Queen and Duns Castle in Mrs Brown.[63][64] In the Netflix series The Crown, Ardverikie House was used as a stand-in.[65] In the sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), three helicopters of the Royal Air Force crash in Scotland during an attempt to evacuate the Royal Family from Balmoral Castle.[66]
An illustration of the castle features on the reverse of £100 notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland.[67]