King Charles Arrives at Balmoral for Summer Residence With Guard of Honour and a Shetland Pony Mascot
King Charles, aged 77, was formally welcomed to Balmoral Castle on Tuesday in a small ceremony marking the start of his summer residence on the Aberdeenshire estate. The King inspected a Guard of Honour formed of the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, wearing a kilt for the occasion. He is Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the regimental title that links the sovereign to the unit's traditions and discipline (Hello!).
At the castle gates, the King met Shetland pony Cpl Cruachan IV, the mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, during the inspection. Dozens of well-wishers gathered to greet him as he arrived (Sky News).
The welcome ceremony is the ceremonial face of what is, in practice, a working summer. The Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements published on the royal household's website, already lists engagements at Balmoral Castle on 7 August 2026 and 14 August 2026, including appearances "through the King Charles Gate" (royal.uk). Royal audiences held at Balmoral generally last around twenty minutes, according to the household's published guidance (royal.uk). The red box, the dispatch case carrying government papers for the sovereign's attention, travels with the King wherever he stays.
Balmoral's own footprint has shifted under Charles. The Balmoral Highlanders, the guard detail stationed outside the front gate, were re-established by the King after being disbanded in 1936 (Hello!). The castle had hosted guided tours from 1 July until 4 August before the King and Queen Camilla took up residence for the summer (BBC News).
Queen Camilla was already settled in the area. On Monday she was seen shopping in the village of Ballater with her sister Annabel Elliot, her daughter Laura Lopes, and her granddaughter Eliza (Hello!). The King had attended church at Crathie Kirk, the parish church near Balmoral, the previous Sunday.
August has already taken Charles across northern Scotland. He attended the Castle of Mey Games, met the Assynt Mountain Rescue team, and engaged with the communities of Halkirk and Castletown, including opening a distillery housed in a restored former mill building. Before departing for Scotland, he spent a morning meeting specialist officers from various British Transport Police units, as announced on the official Royal Family Instagram account on 19 July (Instagram).
In the coming weeks, the King and Queen are expected to welcome family members to Balmoral, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children (Hello!).
The estate carries a particular weight in the reign's opening chapter. Charles left Balmoral on 9 September 2022, the day after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, when he and other members of the Royal Family had gathered at the castle (Reuters). Each summer residence since has been, among other things, a return to the place where one reign ended and another began.
