The late Queen’s “Haddington” teddy bear and her private rooms at the Palace of Holyroodhouse have been opened to the public for the first time.
To mark the centenary of her birth, the tour gives new insight into Queen Elizabeth II’s private life, including some of her personal objects such as her Scottish bear.
She was gifted Haddington sometime around the millennium, and he was one of the few personal objects she liked to be displayed at the Edinburgh palace.
Emma Stead, the curator for the Palace of Holyroodhouse, said: “The Queen was given him as a gift and after that she asked that whenever she arrived here, he be placed in that particular position on the sofa awaiting her arrival.
“She had a few personal objects that she liked to be placed quite precisely.
“Another one is the pin cushion just to the left of the fireplace, which was presented to her when she attended the Commonwealth Games in 1986 in Edinburgh, and it has all the badges of the represented countries who took part.”
Learning curator Richard Williams added: “All we can say is the Queen was very particular and that always would have gone there.
“I know from staff colleagues in Windsor that if they were going to redecorate her private rooms, they would take photos of everything so that they could put things back in the exact spot.”
The Palace of Holyroodhouse opened the private rooms, used by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during her 70-year reign, to the public on Thursday.
Dr Williams said: “These are not rooms with grand chandeliers. These rooms are much more liveable, domestic, very comfortable spaces of a modern couple.
“It does give us a quite new insight into this aspect of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. The contrast is really quite marked.”
The rooms date from the 17th century and have been used by successive monarchs and members of the royal family since Queen Victoria’s reign.
The late Queen stayed at the palace during Holyrood Week every year in late June or early July, during which time she undertook a series of engagements celebrating Scottish culture and achievement, including the annual garden party.
The private rooms are furnished with historic objects from the Royal Collection, as well as pieces from Elizabeth and Philip’s personal collections.
Tours take visitors through rooms and spaces including the royal breakfast room, where the couple would dine privately while in residence.
Dr Williams said: “She would take breakfast between 9am and 9.15am, with the Queen’s piper playing down below in the garden.
“She and the Duke of Edinburgh would be here, the Scotsman newspaper would be delivered, also the Radio Times and the Racing Post as well.
“The Queen always knew everything that was going on.
“After the Duke of Edinburgh passed away, breakfast was the only meal that she would eat by herself, and she would sit in the chair with her back to the fireplace so she could see all the members of staff and people’s comings and goings in front of her.
“For other times of the day, she would eat with members of the royal family.”
The tours conclude in the sitting room where the late Queen would work, reviewing the papers and documents presented in the Government red dispatch boxes, as well as using the room for private audiences or resting between engagements, often while watching horseracing on television.
In her private sitting room, Dr Williams said the late Queen would often honour members of her staff.
He said: “The Queen would often invite, particularly members of staff who had served her for a long time, they may have been given some award as a thank-you. The Queen would invite them to come here into this room.
“In fact one of the members of staff who’s been here a very, very long time said that she had that experience. The Queen wanted to thank her for all that she’d done and they – in the window here – stood for a while having a nice private conversation, just the two of them.
“It’s something that has clearly left a delible mark and wonderful mark on her.”
The tours of the private rooms will run daily for 100 days from Thursday until September 10.
The Royal Collection Trust said tours are limited and must be booked in addition to the standard admission ticket to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
