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Concept
Balmoral Castle
Summary
Balmoral Castle (bælˈmɒrəl) is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen.
The estate and its original castle were bought from the Farquharson family in 1852 by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Soon afterwards the house was found to be too small and the current Balmoral Castle was commissioned. The architect was William Smith of Aberdeen, and his designs were amended by Prince Albert. Balmoral remains the private property of the monarch and is not part of the Crown Estate. It was the summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II, who died there on 8 September 2022.
The castle is an example of Scottish baronial architecture, and is classified by Historic Environment Scotland as a building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly thereafter.
The Balmoral Estate has been added to by successive members of the royal family, and now covers an area of approximately . It is a working estate, including grouse moors, forestry and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, sheep and ponies.
Balmoral is pronounced bælˈmɒrəl or sometimes locally bəˈmɒrəl. It was first recorded as 'Bouchmorale' in 1451, and it was pronounced baˈvɔrəl by local Scottish Gaelic speakers. The first element in the name is thought to be the Gaelic both, meaning "a hut", but the second part is uncertain. Adam Watson and Elizabeth Allan wrote in The Place Names of Upper Deeside that the second part meant "big spot (of ground)". Alexander MacBain suggested this was originally the Pictish *mor-ial, "big clearing" (c.f. Welsh mawr-ial). Alternatively, the second part could be a saint's name.
King Robert II of Scotland (1316–1390) had a hunting lodge in the area. Historical records also indicate that a house at Balmoral was built by Sir William Drummond in 1390. The estate was later tenanted by Alexander Gordon, second son of the 1st Earl of Huntly. A tower house was built on the estate by the Gordons.
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