King Charles set to open Balmoral Castle to public for the first time

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Balmoral Castle, Scottish retreat of the Royal Family since the 1850s, is being opened up to the public for the first time in its history.Charles has thrown open the doors of his Scottish retreat to the public, allowing them a glimpse of royal family life in the Highlands.From Monday visitors can take a guided tour of a number of rooms in the Aberdeenshire castle, where successive monarchs since Queen Victoria have been able to relax and recharge amongst local Scots who have treated them as their own.

James Hamilton Goddard, visitor enterprise manager for the Balmoral Estate, has been working with his team to open up the royal residences' entrance hall, red corridor, main and family dining rooms, page’s lobby, library and drawing room to the public.He said: “It’s a magnificent place, I think the King wants people to see (it).

We were asked, my department, to put this together and we put this together. “The public who managed to get a ticket will come away (having seen) the royal family’s holiday home – that’s exactly what it is, it feels very homely.”Charles is the latest in a long line of the kings and queens who have added their own stamp to Balmoral since Victoria and Prince Albert fell in love with area and had the castle built in the 1850s.

The King has changed the drawing room carpets back to Hunting Stewart tartan, which was the original style of floor coverings Victoria had fitted in the castle.Balmoral’s walls are hung with paintings by Victorian artist Sir Edwin Henry Landseer selected by Charles, who has inherited his great great great grandmother Victoria’s passion for the painter and sculptor.