Balmoral Castle has long been one of the Queen's most beloved places, so it seems only right that it was within the walls of the Scottish pile that she died surrounded by her family.
Throughout her 96 years, the Aberdeenshire estate played a pivotal role in the monarch's life. It was at Birkhall Lodge on the estate where she and late husband Prince Philip spent part of their honeymoon in 1947.
It has been the backdrop to her annual summer holidays, with precious family memories of an off-duty life carved out behind its impressive facade.
