The Royal Family are descending on Balmoral for their summer holiday, with King Charles expected to be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family, as well as the Edinburghs, Yorks, Tindalls and Phillips for the annual break. It's a particularly poignant trip for the family and follows a challenging year for the royal family; both the King and Kate Middleton have faced health battles, leaving others like the Queen and Sophie to pick up more responsibility in their absence. Elsewhere, Peter Phillips split from his longterm girlfriend, Princess Anne suffered a horse-related accident which left her with a concussion and the family remains at odds with Prince Harry.
And yet, Balmoral is known to be place where the royal family come together, in the happiest and saddest of times. The residence is a particularly special one, and holds a host of memories. It was at Balmoral that the late Queen Elizabeth II undertook her final engagements.
The last public photograph ever taken of the monarch was captured in the minutes following the meeting, showing the 96-year-old Queen smiling brightly. Two days later, Queen Elizabeth II passed peacefully, surrounded by her family. Described by her granddaughter, , as ‘the most beautiful place on earth’, Balmoral was apparently the late Queen Elizabeth II's favourite home.
An opinion shared by her grandfather, George V, who once said: ‘I am never so happy as when I am fishing the pools of the Dee.’ It therefore comes as no s.