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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Rebecca Russell

Queen's beautiful home which is one of her favourites - but she hardly stays there

With an impressive portfolio of properties across the country and the Queen has her pick of grand and beautiful homes.

But it is apparently a stone cottage called Craigowan Lodge, located within the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland, that is one of her favourites.

It is well-known that the Queen spends her summer holidays at Balmoral but often arrives before the close of the tourist season.

As a result, she stays at Craigowan Lodge for a few days before the royal household relocates to the main castle when it is closed to visitors.

The cottage was frequently used by The Prince and Princess of Wales when they came to visit the Queen during the summer.

The lodge is off-limits to the public and is mainly used nowadays for housing important guests when they visit.

The Prince and Princess of Wales would often stay at Craigowan Lodge while visiting the Queen during the summer (Peter Jolly/REX/Shutterstock)

Balmoral Castle is located in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is near the village of Crathie and 50 miles west of Aberdeen.

It was bought by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, in 1852 from the Farquharson family. The original house was felt to be too small, so the current Balmoral Castle was commissioned.

To combat her reduced mobility, it was understood that earlier this year palace officials moved to install a £20,000 wheelchair friendly lift at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland so that Her Majesty can spend more time there.

It is also believed she will have a new security gate, a state-of-the-art intercom system and a number of news CCTV cameras installed on the vast property.

A source revealed: "For many years we have thought it would be the perfect place for the Queen to spend more time when she’s older. It's one of her favourite places in the country.

A wheelchair friendly lift has apparently been installed at Balmoral Castle to make it easier for the Queen to stay there (Getty Images)

With the proper lift and now this new security, it can effectively be sealed off so she can spend much more time there quietly in her late nineties."

Balmoral Castle is still privately owned and is not the property of the Crown, unlike other residences. As the castle was originally bought by Prince Albert using personal funds, any revenue from the estate does not go to Parliament or the public purse.

The estate is still owned by the monarch but is managed by Trustees under Deeds of Nomination and Appointment.

The Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie explained: "It's the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands."

Speaking to ITV for the documentary ‘Our Queen At Ninety’, she added: "Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there's always dogs – and people coming in and out all the time. It's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there; where you just have room to breathe and run."

It seems Princess Eugenie isn’t the only one of the Queen’s grandchildren with interesting memories of Balmoral Castle.

Prince William recalled a time that the Queen was very angry at him and his cousin, Peter Phillips when they were much younger.

Speaking during the documentary ‘The Queen at 90’, Prince William explained: "[Peter Phillips and I] were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart, and [we] managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her.

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