Balmoral Castle

Residence of the British royal family in Scotland on the River Dee, 10 km/6 mi northeast of Braemar, Aberdeenshire. It was purchased for Queen Victoria by her husband, Prince Albert, in 1852.

King Robert II of Scotland (1316-1390) held a hunting seat in the grounds, and by 1390 a stone castle was built. After leasing the property in 1848, Prince Albert bought the estate in 1853 from the owners, the Farquarson family of Inverey, who acquired it in 1662. The present castle was built from 1853 to 1856, planned by William Smith, the City Architect of Aberdeen, under the supervision of Prince Albert. The stone was taken from the quarries of Glen Gelder, which produced the light-coloured granite. Upon the death of Queen Victoria, the estate passed to her descendants, and subsequent generations have made changes, the Duke of Edinburgh, for example, enlarging the flower garden and creating a water garden.