Balmoral and the Royal Summer: Traditions of the Highland Holiday
Each August the royals decamp to Balmoral: the traditions of the royal Highland summer, from kirk and Braemar to picnics on the hills.
Every August, as London empties and the last of the summer engagements wind down, the royal family does what it has done for nearly two centuries: it heads north. The royal summer at Balmoral, the family’s private Highland home in Aberdeenshire, is one of the most cherished traditions of the royal year, a long stretch of holiday among the heather, far from the formality of the palace.
It is here, more than anywhere, that the royals are simply a family. The weeks at Balmoral are private, unhurried and deeply loved: a time of walks and picnics, kirk on Sundays and Highland games, tweed and dogs and long light evenings. For a family whose lives are otherwise governed by duty, the Highland summer is a precious return to something like ordinary life.
Here are the traditions of the royal summer at Balmoral, the rhythms of the Highland holiday the family treasures most.
The move to Balmoral
The royal summer begins with the annual migration to Scotland, usually from around late July or early August and lasting into the autumn. Balmoral, bought by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852, has been the family’s private Highland retreat ever since, and the late-summer weeks there were among Queen Elizabeth II’s greatest joys. Our full guide to Balmoral Castle tells the story of the estate itself.
The castle’s public visiting season closes in early August, shortly before the family arrives. That is the signal that the private royal summer has begun, and the gates close on one of the most peaceful chapters of the royal year.
Kirk, tweed and country days
The Highland summer has its own gentle rhythm. On Sundays, the family worships at Crathie Kirk, the small Victorian church near the estate, a quiet, informal tradition far removed from the grandeur of a state occasion. The rest of the week unfolds outdoors: walking the hills, riding, following country pursuits, and the long-standing royal love of a good picnic, as we explore in our piece on the royal picnic.
Tweed and tartan come into their own here, and the King, a devoted Highlander, is often seen in a kilt. It is the countryside wardrobe in its natural home, worn not for the cameras but for the weather and the hills.
The Braemar Gathering
The great public highlight of the royal summer is the Braemar Gathering, the most famous of Scotland’s Highland Games, held each September a short distance from Balmoral. The King is its patron, and the royal family has attended for generations, watching the tossing of the caber, the tug o’ war and the massed pipe bands from the royal pavilion.
It is a rare moment when the private Highland summer meets the public gaze, a joyful, tartan-clad celebration of Scottish tradition that ties the Crown to this corner of the country as firmly as the castle itself. The Gathering is the social centrepiece of the royal Highland calendar.
A private family time
What makes the royal summer so special is that it is genuinely private. Freed from the machinery of monarchy, the family spends the Balmoral weeks together across the generations: grandparents and grandchildren, dogs and long walks and evenings by the fire. Queen Elizabeth II famously found the estate her happiest place, and it was at Balmoral, among the Highlands she loved, that she died in September 2022.
That tender association has only deepened the estate’s meaning for the family. The royal summer is, above all, a time to simply be together in the landscape they have cherished the longest.
Why the royal summer endures
The Balmoral summer endures because it is the antidote to royal life: private where the rest is public, unhurried where the rest is scheduled, and rooted in a landscape the family has loved for nearly two centuries. It is the season when the royals are most themselves, and perhaps most content.
That is its quiet magic. Browse more of our Royal Places & Events stories for the places and seasons that shape the royal year.
Frequently asked questions
When do the royals go to Balmoral?
The royal family traditionally spends its summer at Balmoral from around late July or early August into the autumn. The castle’s public visiting season closes in early August, shortly before the family arrives for its private Highland holiday.
What do the royals do at Balmoral?
The Balmoral summer is a private holiday of walks, picnics, riding and country pursuits, Sunday worship at Crathie Kirk, and attendance at the Braemar Gathering in September. It is the royal family’s most relaxed and private time of year.
What is the Braemar Gathering?
The Braemar Gathering is the most famous of Scotland’s Highland Games, held each September near Balmoral. The King is its patron and the royal family attends, watching caber-tossing, tug o’ war and pipe bands, the public highlight of the royal summer.
Why did the Queen love Balmoral?
Queen Elizabeth II loved Balmoral for its privacy, its landscape and the outdoor Highland life, which offered a freedom her official duties rarely allowed. It was widely regarded as her happiest place, and where she died in September 2022.
Where do the royals go to church at Balmoral?
While at Balmoral, the royal family worships at Crathie Kirk, a small Victorian church near the estate, a quiet, informal Sunday tradition rather than a grand ceremonial occasion.
Details of the royal summer are described as of 2026; dates vary year to year.
