This year, as in previous years, the Queen has travelled to Balmoral to spend her summer holidays. The Queen stays at her private home in Scotland for a couple of months, often accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the royal family who come and visit. Traditionally, the Queen invites the Prime Minister and their spouse to stay with her for a few days, and enjoy the lifestyle the Queen adopts when there. This includes hunting, fishing, walking, horse riding, and family barbecues. The Duke of Edinburgh is known to enjoy cooking in the great outdoors, and the Queen prepares the salads for the alfresco dining experience, famously featured in the 1969 documentary entitled, “Royal Family,” that gave the public a glimpse of the royal family's home life. Balmoral is a stately home situated in the Scottish Highlands. It was bought by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria who were reminded of the german landscape by the Scottish Highlands. Both Albert and Victoria embraced the Scottish culture, and have passed down Balmoral to the generations that have come after them. The original Balmoral Castle was deemed too small, so a new house in a german style was designed by Albert, and built on the estate. The Queen owns Balmoral in her right, privately, it is not owned by the state or crown. Prince Charles (known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland) has his own residence, Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate, which formerly belonged to the Queen Mother. The Queen spent summers as a child at Birkhall with her parents, then the Duke and Duchess of York, before they ascended the throne in 1936. The Royals annually attend the Braemar games, a local event where participants compete in traditional games such as Tossing the Caber and Tug of War. There is also Highland dancing. The Queen is patron of the games. The Ghilles ball is another regular feature of the summer; the royals throw the ball as a thank you to their staff, and don their finery, including the Queen, who has been known to wear her tiara!
A few significant events have occurred whilst the royal family have been staying at Balmoral, notably the passing of Diana, Princess of Wales. She died in a car accident in Paris but her two sons Princes William and Harry, their father Prince Charles, the Queen and other members of the royal family were staying at Balmoral at the time. Controversially, they chose to remain there some time, instead of travelling to London. I think this shows that the Queen, for probably the only time in her life, chose to put her role as a grandmother over her role as Queen, and focus on giving William and Harry the time and space they needed. It was also at Balmoral that the Duchess of York’s paparazzi photos were seen by her and the royals, and led to the Duke and Duchess of York’s separation. But Balmoral holds fun and happy memories for the many summers the royals have spent there. The Queen is never completely off duty though, she still does her state papers in her famous red boxes, everyday. Balmoral is a working estate, much like the Queen's home of Sandringham, in Norfolk, and therefore the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh take a keen interest in how it is run, and can inspect the land and farms themselves in person, when they are staying. I think the outdoor lifestyle and family time greatly benefits the Queen, and gives her a break before the autumn. It also means that Buckingham Palace is open to the public whilst the Queen is not in residence!
This summer of 2018 so far has seen Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Cambridge's (including Prince George watching his first grouse hunt) the Wessex’s, the York’s, Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Mike and Zara Tindall, and, Peter and Autumn Phillips all visit the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh throughout her sojourn in Scotland.