Balmoral Castle tour offers look inside royal family’s Scottish retreat

Balmoral Castle is opening for public tours from 1 July, 2024. Photo / Getty

In just a few hours, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 40 lucky visitors will see what only the royal family and specially invited guests have seen; the inner rooms of Balmoral Castle.

Today marks the first day Balmoral Castle, one of the royal family’s beloved holiday homes, will run public tours of several inner rooms.

Each day from July 1 to August 4, trained staff will lead groups of 10 people through a 50-minute tour of seven ground-floor rooms including the main dining room, drawing room, library and red corridor.

Purchased in 1848 by Queen Victoria (King Charles’ great-great-great-grandmother), Balmoral Castle has been a favourite retreat for the royals for more than 175 years.

Ex-PM John Key with Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, in 2013. Photo / Claire Trevett

Historically, the public has only had access to the gardens, castle grounds and the ballroom from April to the end of July. The rest of the 20,000-hectare property, which is reported to have 167 rooms, has been off-limits.

Earlier this year, the King and the Balmoral estate announced they would allow a small number of tourists to visit in July and the start of August. Tour tickets cost $200 to $300 and sold out within 24 hours of going on sale in April after the website briefly crashed due to demand.

Only 40 visitors can visit each day. Those who book an additional high tea will receive it on a replica of the castle’s White Stewart Tartan China. Before starting the visit, guests must put dust covers over their shoes and turn in their phones as photography is banned, the Telegraph reported.

Those hoping to spot a royal during the tour will be out of luck as the family do not typically visit until August, with the King supposedly visiting for a summer holiday on August 19, the Daily Mail reported.

Balmoral Castle is already a well-rated tourist attraction, with four out of five stars on Tripadvisor and 1720 reviews. Many said it was worth a visit even without one of the few thousand exclusive inside tickets.

“You only get to see the Ballroom, but we thought it was interesting,” one woman wrote in June.

“Lesser beings aren’t allowed to tour the grounds when the Royals are in residence. The grounds are, however, delightful - well manicured and lush greenery,” another wrote.

Less glowing reviews suggest the fee is worthwhile for those with a fascination for the royal family or passion for gardens but less so for a typical tourist.