The valley of the River Dee attained its royal credentials when Prince Albert chose to build a new Balmoral Castle there.
The pinewoods and wooded slopes reminded the Queen’s husband of his native Germany and, besides, he checked the rainfall figures and found it agreeably dry. He bought the estate and the royals occupied the new castle in 1855. The tranquillity appealed to the young Queen, and she described the area in her diary: 'All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and all its sad turmoils.’
She kitted the castle out in tartan, attended Highland Games and, in her embrace of all things Highland, invented a style unkindly known as ‘Balmorality’. Today, Balmoral Castle achieves the difficult feat of being a seasonal visitor attraction and also a high-security royal family holiday home.
Willkommen in Schottland
Bienvenue en Ecosse
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