A stone pyramid commissioned by Queen Victoria to memorialise her husband, Prince Albert, will undergo a “major repair” after eroding under high visitor footfall.
The 11-metre-high cairn was erected at Balmoral in 1862 following the consort’s death.
According to a spokesperson for the Scottish castle, the ground surrounding the cairn has become “severely eroded” due to an “increase in visitors” on the cairn's walking path.
An ongoing restoration project aims to stabilise the structure.
Several granite cairns were erected by the royal family on the 50,000-acre estate in Aberdeenshire. The damaged pyramid is the largest.
Prince Albert’s cairn has the inscription: “To the beloved memory of Albert, the great and good Prince Consort, erected by his broken-hearted widow Victoria, 21st August 1862.”
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha married in 1840 and were together until he died in 1861.
Of the other 10 stone cairns in the area, most commemorate the marriages of Queen Victoria’s children, while another was built to commemorate the purchase of nearby Ballochbuie forest.
Balmoral Castle has been the Highland residence of the royal family since its purchase by Prince Albert in 1852. Some 70,000 tourists are reported to visit annually.
The Balmoral Estate said in a statement: “Due to an increase in visitors to Prince Albert's Pyramid, the ground surrounding the cairn has become severely eroded and the cairn undermined. To remedy this, we are undertaking a major repair and restoration project on the ground immediately surrounding the cairn.
“This work will restore the landscape around the cairn and stabilise the structure of the Pyramid for future generations to enjoy.”
The estate urged visitors to “take care” in the area around the Pyramid and apologised for any inconvenience that the “essential repair work” creates.
In September, a sculpture of Prince Albert, displayed at Windsor Castle for 160 years, was revealed as the work of his daughter, Princess Victoria.
The princess crafted the posthumous bust with her tutor, Hugo Hagen, having taken sculpting lessons, as revealed in a catalogue published by Modern Art Press in association with the Royal Collection Trust.
Read more: Secrets of royal sculpture uncovered 160 years on
