BALMORAL CASTLE
The first
recorded
appearance
of the name
Balmoral
(Gaelic,
“the majestic
dwelling “),
appears in the
15th century,
associated with
the Abergeldie Gordons, who retained physical possession of the castle until the title
passed to the Farquaharson clan in the 17th century and then to the Earls of Fife at
the end of the 18th century. Sir Robert Gordon obtained a long term lease in the
19th century marking the return of the Gordons to Balmoral in nearly two hundred
years.
The original castle was built in the
15th century, Queen Victoria & Prince
Albert originally visited there in 1848,
having obtained the lease from Sir
Robert Gordon's trustees. The estate's
woodland park is said to have reminded
the Prince of Thuringia, and the royal
couple came to love the countryside
and people. Balmoral Castle and it's
10,000 acre estate was bought by
Prince Albert from the Earl of Fife in 1852 as a present for Queen Victoria, by
payment from the crown in the amount of £ 32,000. The original castle was deemed
too small, and in 1853 William Smith was commissioned to design the castle in the
Scottish Baronial style. Prince Albert planned the grounds and helped with the
design of the castle itself. The new castle was constructed on the site about 90
metres (100 yards) north from the old building, the work was completed in 1856.
The castle is built of granite, with
an eastern tower 100 feet high
commanding a superb view—
Ballochbuie and Braemar to the
west, Glen Gairn to the north,
Lochnagar and the beautiful valley
of the Dee to the south. On Craig
Gowan (13,9 ft.), a hill I meter to
the south, have been erected
memorial cairns to Queen Victoria,
the prince consort, Princess Alice
and other members of the royal
family of Great Britain. The parish
church of Crathie (1903), replacing the kirk of 1806, is 11/2 meters to the west, and
about 2 meters farther west stands Abergeldie Castle, another Highland royal
residence, an ancient building to which modern additions have been made,
inhabited by King Edward VII when prince of Wales, and after his accession to the
throne used as a shooting-lodge. Without a doubt the most heavily guarded castle in
the world, Balmoral remains the summer home of the British Royal Family.
