Despite his tough times at Gordonstoun, King Charles’s love of Scotland never wavered and he shares his late mother’s love and affection for the country. It’s perhaps unsurprising as his associations here began before he was old enough to know when he had crossed the Border.
When the Queen ascended the throne in 1952, and the four-year-old became heir, he inherited a long list of titles. Charles became the Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
As heir he was best known as the Prince of Wales – a title the Queen gave him later – but in Scotland, he was known as the Duke of Rothesay. Now he is king, this title passes to his heir, Prince William.
Charles also inherited the title Duke of Edinburgh from his father but did not use it. Like the rest of his family, Scotland has been Charles’s retreat and escape route. As a child he spent holidays at the Balmoral estate. He went riding with his father and fishing with his grandmother. On the moors, he killed his first stag aged 13.
On these trips, the royal family would be pictured together in kilts and sweaters. Whether it’s a march up the moors or a public event in Scotland, Charles keeps up this tradition. Camilla also favours tartan trims and tweedy coats when she accompanies him around the country.
When Charles was courting Princess Diana, her first trip to Balmoral was crucial. The shy young nanny played a blinder and charmed everyone. But when the couple returned to Balmoral for the last leg of their honeymoon, Diana made it clear she did not care for the weather, the company or the endless outdoor activities.
By that time, Balmoral and the rural north-east were under her husband’s skin. The year before the wedding, he published a children’s book, The Old Man of Lochnagar. It was based on a tale Charles used to tell his wee brothers, set in the caves beside the mountain that overlooks Balmoral.
The BBC made it into a short film, with Robbie Coltrane playing the old man and Charles narrating. Charles has his own property on the 50,000 acre Balmoral estate. His grandmother, the Queen Mother, left him Birkhall when she died in 2002.
The garden is Charles’s particular joy and it has been designed to supply blooms for the house as well as fruit and vegetables for the kitchen. He said: “It’s such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. It is a childhood garden and all I’ve done, really, is enhance it a bit.”
Charles chose to propose to Camilla Parker Bowles at Birkhall in 2005. They went on to spend their honeymoon there that year. The couple visit in the late summer. They were in residence for the first Covid lockdown in 2020. Charles self-isolated there when he had the virus.
Camilla’s rescue Jack Russells, Beth and Bluebell, have the run of the place. In 2008, Charles floated the idea of giving Balmoral to the nation as a coronation gift. He discussed it with Alex Salmond, who was First Minister at the time, at a private dinner in Birkhall.
The deal would allow him to keep the Birkhall estate and mansion as his official Scottish residence. Birkhall is not the only Scottish property Charles inherited from his grandmother. The Queen Mother also passed on the Castle of Mey, near John o’ Groats. She bought it as a semi-derelict ruin in 1953, renovated it and made it over to a trust. It’s now open to the public apart from the 10 days a year when Charles and Camilla stay there.
Charles added to his Scottish portfolio in 2007, when he saved Dumfries House, an 18th-century mansion, near Cumnock in Ayrshire. It was about to be sold to cover the owner, the Marquess of Bute’s death duties.
Charles spearheaded the campaign to raise £45m to keep the house and its collection of Chippendale furniture together, and open it up for everyone to enjoy.
Dumfries House is now run by the Prince’s Foundation. It’s a monument to all the things that Charles loves, including a spectacular garden. The new king was staying there this week when the call came to rush to Balmoral.
Charles has so many happy memories of Scotland, from spending time with his mother and grandmother to proposing to his wife. It’s his sanctuary and special place. Now that he is monarch, with all the pressures and stresses that will involve, he will need it even more.
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