WISH YOU WERE HERE - SECRETS OF THE QUEEN'S GREAT ESCAPE

HER MAJESTY USUALLY SPENDS SUMMERS AT BALMORAL IN SCOTLAND OK! REVEALS WHY THE VAST HIGHLANDS ESTATE HAS SUCH A MAGICAL PULL ON THE ROYALS

- MICHELLE GARNETT

Every summer for the past 68 years, Her Majesty the Queen has decamped to her beloved Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands for 12 weeks.

Her annual visit had been up in the air due to the coronavirus crisis, but tentative plans have been made to negotiate a temporary move with the Duke of Edinburgh from Windsor Castle where they’ve been self-isolating.

“I think the Queen’s been desperate to go,” says royal expert Ingrid Seward. “She says it’s the only place that she can really relax, enjoy her freedom and be herself away from prying eyes. She can clear her mind and have a think without being bothered by the niceties of court life.”

There’s still work to be done though. “The Summer Court moves to Balmoral and the boxes of paperwork continue to be sent to the Queen,” explains Ingrid. “But she can sit at her desk, looking out at the mountains and watch the everchanging weather while she works.”

After being woken each morning at 9 am by bagpipes, the Queen loves to go horse riding or out walking the dogs across the moors. Hiking, fishing and hunting are enjoyed, too, with Prince George reportedly taken to watch his first grouse shoot at the age of five.

“It’s like they’ve almost gone back a century,” says Ingrid. “The royals won’t think of it as formal, but it really would be formal to us. They still have black tie dinners at Balmoral and afterwards, a piper walks around the dining table playing to them.”