Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle Photographs

The immense castellated mansion of Balmoral is set in the gently wooded countryside of the River Dee. Robert II had a hunting lodge here, the Sir Malcolm Drummond built a tower on the same site. The Gordon Earls of Huntly bought the estate in the 15th century and it changed hands in 1662 and 1798, in 1845 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert paid their first visit. Prince Albert paid £31, 500 for the 24,000 acre site and it remains the Royal Family's favourite retreat today.

At Home With The Queen. Behind the scenes of the private world at the heart of royalty, as revealed by a distinguished royal commentator. This is the real story of what goes on inside the royal palaces, as witnessed by members of the royal staff and household past and present. Buckingham Palace is effectively an independent kingdom with its own rules and customs, now explained by Brian Hoey. Hundreds of anecdotes reveal the conditions in which the staff live and work and also their relationship with the Royals they serve. How does one get a job as personal footman to the Queen? Why does Prince Charles still have to send a note to her Page of the Backstairs requesting a meeting with his mother? How much do members of the household earn? Why does the Queen hate men in three-piece suits? Why are the Queen's bedsheets six inches longer than Prince Philip's? Why do her maids have to vacuum walking backwards? Why doesn't the Queen allow square ice-cubes to be put in her drinks?. At Home with the Queen: Life Through the Keyhole of the Royal Household.

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