King Charles’ summer break in Scotland is underway, and he is set to spend time at his stunning Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, as he does every year. Normally, he is joined by his family to embrace the time off and enjoy life away from royal duties. Prince William, Princess Kate and their children are regulars at the estate, but for years Prince Harry has not attended the annual trip. After a meeting between Harry and Charles took place earlier this summer, there’s a chance they could be back on the invite list.

Prince Harry previously recalled an occasion in his memoir Spare, however, when he was asked to visit Balmoral without his wife Meghan Markle. He penned: “It was Pa. Granny’s health had taken a turn. She was up at Balmoral, of course. Those beautiful, melancholy late-summer days. He hung up — he had many other calls to make — and I immediately texted Willy to ask whether he and Kate were flying up. If so, when? And how? No response. Meg and I looked at flight options. The press started phoning; we couldn’t delay a decision any longer. We told our team to confirm: We’d be missing the WellChild Awards and hurrying up to Scotland.

“Then came another call from Pa. He said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn’t want… her. He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, and disrespectful, and I wasn’t having it. Don’t ever speak about my wife that way. He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn’t want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn’t coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn’t. Then that’s all you needed to say.”

The reality of summers at Balmoral

Elsewhere in the book, Prince Harry made another surprising revelation, this time about the room he stayed in at Balmoral. In one of the chapters, he penned: “Balmoral had fifty bedrooms, one of which had been divided for me and Willy. Adults called it the nursery. Willy had the larger half, with a double bed, a good-sized basin, a cupboard with mirrored doors, a beautiful window looking down on the courtyard, the fountain, the bronze statue of a roe deer buck. My half of the room was far smaller, less luxurious. I never asked why. I didn’t care. But I also didn’t need to ask. Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare.”

A royal love affair with Balmoral

Balmoral has been a much-loved retreat for the royal family ever since Prince Albert purchased the impressive 50,000-acre estate for Queen Victoria in 1852. The residence has served as a private sanctuary for the royals to spend their summer in the Scottish Highlands each year, with Charles having a lifelong connection to the estate. Queen Elizabeth II died there on 8 September 2022, and before that she often spoke fondly of the property so it seemed only fitting it was where she spent her final days.