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By Stuart Yeates from Oxford, UK – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Queen was officially welcomed to her summer residence in Scotland, Balmoral Castle. Elizabeth II participated in the traditional welcoming ceremony which included inspecting the Balaklava Company and the 5th Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment at the gates of the castle.
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The monarch also enjoyed another encounter with the company’s mascot, a Shetland pony named Cruachan IV, who has performed far from well in previous encounters. In 2018, the pony decided to relieve himself as the royal guest approached, causing the queen to be hijacked. A year earlier, in 2017, Cruachan IV had chosen to have lunch during his royal meeting, nibbling the bouquet of flowers held by the queen. Seeing the pony at the 2021 ceremony, Her Majesty, a horse fan, joked “here we are again. “
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As she headed north from Windsor Castle to Balmoral last month, the ceremony on August 9, 2021 marked the official start of her stay in the Scottish estate. It will mark the Queen’s first summer vacation without her husband Prince Philip, who died in April at the age of 99. The Queen visited Balmoral last year as scheduled, but there was no ceremony due to the global health crisis.
While it is her summer vacation, the queen will still continue her work, reading her diplomatic papers in the famous “red boxes” which are delivered to her daily. She will also hold hearings between visits from other family members.
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For over 150 years, the Scottish Castle served as a private retreat for the British Royal Family. Located in the Scottish Highlands, members of the Royal Family usually organize dances, picnics and have shooting nights during their stay. The property has been owned by the royal family since 1845, when Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert purchased the castle and the surrounding 7,000-acre estate.
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