While the British royal family has quite a few properties in its real estate portfolio, few are as beloved as Balmoral. Spanning roughly 50,000 acres, the “Highland home” was Queen Elizabeth II‘s favorite. The late monarch passed away on the estate in September 2022.

“I think Granny is the most happy there,” Princess Eugenie said in the 2016 documentary Our Queen at Ninety. “I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”

In the years since Queen Elizabeth’s death, the royal family has continued to spend their summers up north. In 2024, Balmoral became an especially important retreat for King Charles and Kate Middleton, both of whom were diagnosed with cancer. As well, it just so happens to be the place where Prince William and Prince Harry found out about the death of their mother, Princess Diana.

“In the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors,” William said during an emotional speech at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2021. “As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep.”

Ahead, here’s everything you should know about Balmoral Castle, its history as a beloved royal residence, and its potential future as a wedding venue (if, that is, King Charles get his way).

The estate was purchased by the royal family in 1852 and is now worth £80 million.

Balmoral has a long history beginning with King Robert II of Scotland in the late 1300s. Five hundred years later, it came under the purview of the British royal family when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852. At the time, the monarch reportedly found it “small but pretty.” Construction on a new house began in 1853 and was completed in 1856.

Today, Balmoral Castle boosts 167 rooms, including 52 or so bedrooms, plus 81 other “residential properties on the estate,” per The Guardian. In 2023, the publication estimated that Balmoral is worth roughly £80 million, which comes out to over $109 million.

It spans roughly 50,000 acres.

Aside from the castle itself, Balmoral’s claim to fame (and the reason it’s worth so much money) is the land it sits on. Spanning just over 50,000 acres, the estate includes forestry, farmland, a hydroelectric dam, and a grouse moor. The royal family enjoys hunting, fishing, and horseback riding on the property.

“It was a life of picnics and paddling around,” Margaret Rhodes, the Queen’s late cousin, once said of summers at Balmoral. The late Sir Malcolm Ross, who once served as comptroller of the royal household, likewise told BBC that “the weather’s not perfect, but it’s the setting…It’s the wide open spaces…No distractions, no aeroplanes, no noise, no traffic. Just this lovely estate where [Queen Elizabeth II] can freely roam everywhere. She can relax, with her dogs, just doing what she thought normal people did, and indeed what normal people do.”

Balmoral Castle is not part of the Crown Estate.

Unlike the monarchy’s official residences, Balmoral Castle is private property, and therefore not the property of the Crown Estate. Queen Elizabeth II inherited the home from her father, King George VI; her son, King Charles III, subsequently became the owner when she died in September 2022.

As for Charles’s two sons, it is unclear which one of them will inherit the residence. In January 2026, rumors surfaced that the monarch was reportedly offering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “time” at Balmoral Castle amid the father and son’s ongoing rift.

“This is Charles’s most personal residence,” one palace insider told royal expert Rob Shuter, per Marie Claire. “Offering Harry and Meghan time at Balmoral is an enormous gesture. It signals trust, forgiveness, and a genuine desire to heal.”

Shuter explained further, “Harry and Meghan would be invited to stay during select family gatherings—a carefully calibrated olive branch designed to show the door to reconciliation is still open.”

It was Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite residence.

Queen Elizabeth II’s lifelong fondness for Scotland began with summers spent at both Balmoral Castle and Glamis Castle (the latter property was the childhood home of her mother, Queen Elizabeth I). According to People, Balmoral became the late monarch’s “summer sanctuary” starting in 1937.

“Balmoral has always been a place of rejuvenation and reflection,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told the publication. “She has been going there since she was a baby. It’s where Prince Philip proposed and where she had her honeymoon. It’s a place bursting with memories.”

The British royal family summers there.

King Charles and his family have continued with Queen Elizabeth’s annual tradition of spending summers at Balmoral since her death in 2022. After Kate Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis in early 2024, for example, she sought a “carefree” summer for her children on the estate. Her husband Prince William likewise called Scotland the “source of some of my happiest memories.”

As for his brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the duo have reportedly visited Balmoral together exactly once, shortly after their May 2018 nuptials. The duchess has of course not returned to the U.K. since 2022, when the couple attended Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

King Charles opened the gardens to the public in 2024.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, her son King Charles inherited the estate. He has since transformed the gardens of the Scottish castle into a touching tribute to his late mother thanks to a new Celtic maze.

“Mazes are very special to Charles, as he used to love playing in the maze at Sandringham when he was young,” Jack Stooks, who was a senior gardener at Charles’ country home, Highgrove, for more than 20 years, explained. “It’s likely Charles wanted to bring some of the nostalgia of his childhood back to the Balmoral gardens and make it a place of fun and excitement for future generations. Balmoral was also a very special residence for the Queen, so Charles will want others to enjoy a place that was so special for his mother.”

“It’s like a tribute to her,” he concluded.