Birkhall, Balmoral Estate

Royal Residence

Birkhall stands on the Balmoral estate in Royal Deeside, Scotland. Set in glorious scenery, it is currently owned by Charles, Prince of Wales. The building lies in a scenic location by the River Muick.

The house dates back to 1715. It was acquired by the Royal family from the Gordon family by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, in 1849. He also purchased the nearby Balmoral Castle and accompanying 50,000-acre estate that year, Birkhall was granted to his eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII.

King George V lent Birkhall in the 1930s to the Duke and Duchess of York as a holiday home in Scotland for the couple and their children, Princesses Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The Queen Mother fondly referred to it as "little big house". Birkhall was inherited by Charles, Prince of Wales from Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to whom he was very close, upon her death in 2002. The prince also owns Highgrove House in Gloucestershire and Clarence House in London.

The garden, in particular, has captured Prince Charles's heart. "It is," Prince Charles he related to Country Life magazine, "such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. Charles and Camilla spend their summer holidays at Birkhall every year and enjoy fishing and going for walks in the surrounding countryside. In March 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall self-isolated at Birkhall after Charles tested positive for COVID-19.