King Charles and Queen Camilla will shortly be embarking on their traditional summer holiday to Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, where the Royal Family retreat to every year for some rest and relaxation.
It is the first time Their Majesties will preside over the rest of the family as monarchs following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September, aged 96.
The late Queen was said to feel most at home in Balmoral, where she could for a brief time each year leave behind her royal duties and unwind in the countryside, taking long walks in the woods.
While Charles may share his mother’s love for the Scottish outdoors he is choosing to develop his own traditions, as he and Camilla will not be staying at the main house when they are up there.
Instead they will be retreating to Birkhall, their own residence on the estate, only venturing to the main house for entertaining or to see other royals who will be staying there.
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Birkhall’s history is closely entwined with that of the most senior royals, many of whom have spent happy holidays there over the decades.
The house was first built by the Farquharson clan in 1715 and was not acquired by the royals until 1852, when Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert bought it as a gift for his son, the future King Edward VII.
However he only visited the property once and it passed back into the family’s hands, until the 1930s when George V lent it to then-Duke and Duchess of York, who would later become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
The royal couple completely redecorated the house and gardens, with Charles sharing his grandfather’s passion for getting his hands dirty in the garden.
The late Queen enjoyed summer holidays there as a Princess with her sister Princess Margaret, later staying there with Prince Philip and a young Charles and Princess Anne before she ascended the throne.
The Queen Mother was the principal caretaker of Birkhall from 1952 until her death in 2002, when the property passed to then-Prince Charles, who has added his own touches to the beloved gardens.
He told Country Life magazine in 2013: “It is such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. It is a childhood garden, and all I’ve done, really, is enhance it a bit.”
Close to the house the River Muick can be heard rushing by, as the King explained to the BBC: “One of the most marvellous things about [Birkhall] is it’s by this river called the Muick, and it has this wonderful sound of rushing water.
“When you are in the house it’s very calming and peaceful I think… it has a very special atmosphere. The house is rather wonderful.”
The spectacular grounds of the property feature a sloping lawn, falling away to a terrace bordered by fruit trees and surrounded by beds of red roses.
Many fruit and vegetables are also grown here to supply the house, with anything not available at Birkhall being brought up from the King’s home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.
A flood in 2016 almost ruined much of the garden and left Charles “devastated, however it has fortunately recovered, with the house’s grand entrance and large porch providing the backdrop for Charles and Camilla’s Christmas card in 2020.
Inside the property is equally magnificent, but the main focus is that of family, as the King has kept his late grandmother’s collection of framed Vanity Fair prints along the stairs.
Pictures of the family are everywhere, as inside the cosy drawing room photographs of Princes William and Harry with their wives and children are proudly on display.
Meanwhile Camilla is able to customise her own space in her private office, where she keeps her own family portraits, including a painting of Charles on an easel.
