It’s a subject nobody really wants to talk about – how the Queen will spend her final years.
But Her Majesty, being her usual pragmatic self, is looking to the future and letting it be known how she wants to pass her days – and, more importantly, where – once she is in her nineties.
Discreet discussions are taking place about where the Queen (89) may live when she’s older, especially if her husband, Prince Philip (94), dies before her. It appears that she is keen to be based more often at her Scottish retreat, Balmoral, where she currently stays throughout August and September every year.
Her Majesty in 1971. The Queen’s holiday home is where she lets her hair down and wears trousers.
Most of the rest of the year is spent at her main residence, Buckingham Palace, in London, although she and Philip usually go to nearby Windsor Castle at weekends. Sandringham estate, in Norfolk, is the location for the royals’ Christmas holidays.Palace insiders say the Queen has made it clear that her preference is to spend more time in Scotland if Prince Philip passes away. “The discussion has been that if he goes before her, that would be her wish,” says the source.
“She loves Scotland – it has always been a great comfort to her, where she is happiest and most relaxed.”
Her Majesty can let her hair down when she’s at Balmoral. She’s often seen driving herself around the estate in an old Land Rover, and enjoys nothing more than hosting shooting parties or family picnics in cabins dotted around the property. She will often do the washing up herself.
Photographs taken of the Queen’s private sitting room show surroundings that are cosy, comfortable and rather cluttered. There are photos in mismatched frames, fake flowers and crumpled dog beds on a tartan carpet. It’s a far cry from the grandeur of Buckingham Palace.
Unlike the palace and Windsor Castle, which are owned by the Crown and funded by taxpayers, Balmoral and Sandringham are the property of the royal family.
Balmoral was bought by Prince Albert for his wife, Queen Victoria, in 1852, and has been passed down to successive monarchs ever since. When Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, he still officially owned Balmoral and Sandringham, which he’d inherited after the death of his father George V. His brother George VI (the Queen’s father) had to buy the two properties from him to keep them in the family.
Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the Queen and Prince Philip’s favourite retreat.
Whenever Her Majesty stays at Balmoral, her private office and household staff, including private secretaries, protection officers and footmen, travel there with her. The Queen is believed to feel that when it comes to doing her job, “location is immaterial” and she can function as monarch wherever she is in the country.
As it is, she works while she’s there, reading diplomatic papers in the famous “red boxes” that are delivered to her from parliament every day. She has been gradually easing her workload over the last few years, with Prince Charles (66) taking on more of her duties.
Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the Queen and Prince Philip’s favourite retreat.
In the meantime, Philip is spending much of his summer holidays at Balmoral fly fishing.
It has become a recent passion and the prince spends hours at a time in the water, wearing chest-high waders, angling for trout or salmon.
“His stamina for a man his age is incredible,” says one royal insider. “He can’t stand being idle.”
Philip had to give up shooting, another favourite pastime, after having a stent inserted in his heart in December 2011. “The recoil of the gun was too dangerous,” explains the source.
