Balmoral Castle: The Scottish home loved by the Queen

The Queen's love of her home in Balmoral in Royal Deeside was well known.

She spent most summers at the 50,000-acre country estate in Aberdeenshire, usually with her beloved husband Philip and family by her side.

Surrounded by countryside, Balmoral Castle is where she spent many a happy holiday - from visiting with her grandparents King George V and Queen Mary as a small child, to the final months of her life.

She hosted numerous royal garden parties there and enjoyed watching events at the nearby Braemar Highland Games with other members of the Royal Family.

She spent much of Prince Philip's last years with him at Balmoral and they spent their 73rd wedding anniversary there in November 2020.

Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when the estate and its original castle were bought from the Farquharson family by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. The house was then found to be too small and the current Balmoral Castle was commissioned.

The castle itself is an example of Scottish baronial architecture, and is classified by Historic Environment Scotland as a category A listed building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly afterwards.

It remains private property of the Queen and is not part of the Crown Estate.

It is a working estate, including grouse moors, forestry and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies.

The Royal Family were at Balmoral when Princess Diana died on 31 August 1997 and it initially became the focus of the aftermath.

The Sunday morning after her death, the Queen and Princes Charles, William and Harry attended a church service at nearby Crathie Kirk.

On their way home they viewed the floral tributes and messages left by the public.

Here are some more images of the Queen and her family at Balmoral over the years:

All images are subject to copyright.