Talk:Balmoral Castle

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Summer residence of the monarch[edit]

My impression has long been that at least under Elizabeth II, Balmoral is where the monarch spends several weeks each summer, particularly around August. It is effectively her summer (or late summer) residence, much as Sandringham is her Christmas/winter residence, with Windsor Castle being the preferred residence the rest of the time, and Buckingham Palace when in London. This isn't quite clear from the present wording of the article and should probably be mentioned in the intro. Are there sources that document the queen's movements over the years (probably based on the Court Circular), and what her usual pattern of residence at Balmoral has been? Has she spent more of the summer there over the years as she's reduced international travel? Does she ever go to Balmoral outside of the usual summer months when she's in residence? Beorhtwulf (talk) 13:20, 8 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't use "summer/winter" residence in this case, which implies they are the only two places one lives, so one is spending 4+ months at each. The place you spend the school summer holidays is more akin to a holiday home, but usual language doesn't really apply to people with multiple palaces to choose from. The movements are quite heavily constrained - the London "season" in June includes formal events like Garter Day and of course the late Queen would never miss Royal Ascot in late June. But then pretty soon after that you have the brief Edinburgh season with the biennial Order of the Thistle service at the start of July. Then traditionally one would go to one's Highland estate in plenty of time for the start of grouse shooting on the 12 August - broadly the "summer holidays" in that world would be defined by the summer recess of Parliament, which is 21 July - 5 Sept 2022 this year. FlagSteward (talk) 23:10, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Description of the Main Gates[edit]

The main gates to the castle feature "circular panels bearing ciphers 'GVR' and 'MR'" for George V of England and Mary of Teck. Source: http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB51473 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:A040:18C:5081:4DAB:938:1E7C:F931 (talk) 09:23, 9 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ownership[edit]

It's mentioned that it is the Monarch's private property but not really pointed up that the big significance of acquiring Balmoral in 1852 was that the monarch "finally had his or her own house instead of being at the mercy of Parliament's Civil List legislation" and was hitherto paradoxically wealthy but also a homeless person in a sense. I'd heard something to this effect but I don't know how true it is that this was literally the reflection, or the issue raised when Prince Albert bought the place. Can someone find a source to that effect or confirm that it is something of just a rumour? 50.34.104.79 (talk) 00:03, 12 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Castle[edit]

This structure is technically a palace, not a castle. 57.135.233.22 (talk) 06:13, 11 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]