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Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen begins her annual summer holiday at Balmoral

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen has arrived at Balmoral Castle for the start of her annual summer holiday.

Her Majesty headed to Scotland from Windsor Castle on Friday.

This is the first time the monarch has spent the summer at Balmoral without the Duke of Edinburgh in her life.

In years gone by, Prince Philip usually joined Her Majesty at Balmoral in mid-August.

Other than Christmas at Sandringham, this is the only time Her Majesty has a break in the working year – it is regarded as one of her favourite places to go.

During her stay at Balmoral, The Queen hosts a variety of guests from her family to the Prime Minister.

Engagements are rarely carried out by The Queen during her Balmoral stay, with the Royal Family preferring to spend the time on leisure activities such as fishing and shooting.

The Queen will spend the entirety of August and some of September at Balmoral; and will likely be joined by members of her family.

In previous years, guests to join the 95-year-old at Balmoral for a few days have included the Prince of Wales & the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of York and their two daughters, and other extended family members.

However, with England only just coming out of a national lockdown and Scotland having different rules, this year will still be far from normal.

Despite this being The Queen’s holiday time, she will still receive her daily famous ‘red box’ whilst at Balmoral which contains ministerial updates, which The Queen takes a keen interest in.