Every year, the Queen spends the summer at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, escaping the Big Smoke for some weeks or tranquillity. Of course, Her Majesty now resides primarily at the more isolated Windsor Castle, as opposed to London's Buckingham Palace, which attracts scores of tourists every year - but the need to escape to her beloved Scottish retreat stays strong.
It has become tradition for the Queen's family to visit her every summer up in Scotland, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge often paying Her Majesty a visit with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. While William has become very closely acquainted with Balmoral as a result of visiting the beautiful Scottish castle since he was a young boy, Kate did not visit until adulthood.
Obviously, Kate's first invitation to Balmoral came after she began dating William. There's no doubt that, ahead of her first visit to the Queen's Scottish retreat, Kate would have felt nervous, but Her Majesty quashed any fears held by Kate by awarding her a special privilege, The Mirror reports.
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Balmoral is surrounded by rugged, dramatic landscape, which is home to some of Scotland's beautiful native wildlife. According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Her Majesty allowed Kate, a keen photographer, to take pictures of Balmoral and its surroundings, as she knew how much photography meant to her.
Although taking photographs of the breath-taking Scottish landscape is not unheard of, with countless snappers heading to the northern UK to document Scotland's stunning beauty, this had never been done before in terms of the Queen's Scottish estate, Katie claims. In her book, Kate: The Future Queen, she writes: "Until now the Queen had met Kate only fleetingly at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Phillips, but she went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral."
"This gesture, along with inviting Kate to Balmoral, demonstrated that the Queen was ready to welcome Kate into the inner royal circle, Katie says. She added: "As a woman who has lived her entire life in the public eye, the Queen rarely lets her guard down, and very few apart from her family and closest friends get to see the real Elizabeth."
Following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh last year, one photo snapped by the Duchess of Cambridge at Balmoral was released to the public. It shows the Queen and her late husband at Balmoral in 2018, surrounded by seven of their great-granchildren during a family holiday.
The Queen usually arrives at Balmoral in August, and leaves in September, meaning Her Majesty is currently in residence there now. During her stay, the Queen invites family members to stay with her and they indulge in a number of outdoor pursuits.
Members of The Firm are said to be fans of walking around the estate's 50,000 acres, in addition to enjoying picnics and BBQs together. One of the Queen's granddaughters, Princess Eugenie, has previously spoken about her grandparents' love of the rural Scottish retreat, and why it is so special to them.
She told the programme 'Our Queen at 90': "It's the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is the most happy there, I think she really, really loves the Highlands…walks, picnics, dogs, a lot of dogs, there's always dogs, and people coming in and out all the time.
"Family-wise we're all there, so it's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa to be - for us to come and see them up there where you just have room to breathe and run."
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