Visitors can join guided tours of several rooms in the Aberdeenshire castle, including the entrance hall, red corridor, main and family dining rooms, page’s lobby, library, and drawing room.
Visitors can see the changes King Charles has made since becoming king, like switching the drawing room carpets back to the original Hunting Stewart tartan chosen by Queen Victoria.
Tickets for the guided tours, costing £100 or £150 with afternoon tea, sold out in 24 hours. Forty people per day can visit from July 1 to August 4.
James Hamilton-Goddard, the visitor enterprise manager for the estate, said, "It's a magnificent place. I think the king wants people to see it."
He said, "The public who got a ticket will see the royal family's holiday home. It feels very homely."
The royal summer retreat has been a royal residence since Prince Albert purchased it in 1852 for around £32,000. It's widely known as Queen Elizabeth II's favorite home and is where she passed away in 2022.
Balmoral Castle's walls feature paintings chosen by Charles from the Victorian artist Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, who was a favorite of his great-great-great grandmother, Victoria.
Landseer, famous for sculpting the lions at the bottom of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, was invited to Balmoral every summer to teach painting to Victoria and Albert.
The castle's library, originally used by Victoria and her consort for breakfast and lunch, is now used by the king as his study.
Other items exhibited include the chauffeur’s whistle, once used to call the driver in past years. Visitors can also view the dinner gong, made from materials salvaged from HMS Temeraire, which was used to call Balmoral guests to meals.
Previously, the public could only visit Balmoral's ballroom and the castle grounds. The opening happens before the king and queen arrive at Balmoral for their summer vacation.
SOURCE: The Guardian