At Balmoral Castle, the Queen could kick off her shoes and relax for three months every summer

IT was the one place in the whole world where she felt most at home.

Balmoral Castle, where the Queen died yesterday, was where she could ‘take her shoes off’ and relax for three months every summer.

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On this 50,000-acre estate beside the River Dee in the Scottish Highlands, she could be mother and wife – worlds away from life as the world’s most famous woman.

British royals have found peace there since the days of Queen Victoria.

She arrived in Balmoral for the last time on July 23, her second summer without Prince Philip.

Fittingly, she found her final resting place here surrounded by her family.

On a tour of India I once asked the Queen, ‘Why do you always go to Balmoral? Wouldn’t you like to go somewhere else?”

The Queen replied, “Where else could I go?” I said politely, “You are the Queen, you can go anywhere in the world.”

She smiled at me and said, “But I really like it there.”

Balmoral was also the scene of many significant moments in her long life.

This is where the love of her life Prince Philip secretly proposed to Princess Elizabeth. After they married, Balmoral became the couple’s private retreat where their family could join them.

For more than 40 years I have traveled to Balmoral to photograph the Queen and I will never forget watching her happily strolling along the banks of the River Dee with her corgis barking at her heels.

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