No wonder she's happy! Queen inspects the troops as she arrives for the start of her two month summer holiday at Balmoral

[Rapunzel]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2386875/All-smiles-Queen-arrives-Balmoral-annual-summer-holiday.html

No wonder she's happy! Queen inspects the troops as she arrives for the start of her two month summer holiday at Balmoral

    Monarch arrived 27 July but spent first 10 days elsewhere on the estate
    Had to wait until tourist season ended on 31 July, then another week for team to secure the main residence
    Queen expected to be joined by Prince Philip on Monday
    Other Royals likely to drop in - with suggestions William and Kate may spend some time there

By Deborah Arthurs

PUBLISHED: 10:06 EST, 8 August 2013 | UPDATED: 11:19 EST, 8 August 2013

She arrived for her annual summer break at Balmoral just five days after the Royal baby was born.

And now, almost two weeks later, the Queen appears to have relaxed into her two month holiday with ease.

She was greeted by hordes of well-wishers as she inspected the troops outside the gates of Balmoral today as she arrived to take up official residence.

She had landed in Scotland more than a week earlier, on 27 June, when she arrived by private aeroplane with her two corgis, Holly and Willow, for the break.



Until now, she had been staying in one of the other houses on the estate before the tourist season came to and end on 31 July and the main residence could be prepared for her arrival.

Dressed in a powder blue suit and hat trimmed with a statement bloom, she looked delighted with what she saw as the pipers struck up in her honour.

The Queen traditionally spends the entire summer in her Scottish residence, and is customarily joined for the whole duration by Prince Philip, with other members of the Royal family dropping in for portions of the break.

Philip is set to join the Queen at her private estate on Monday, after carrying out his first public engagement two months since he was admitted to the London Clinic on 6 June for exploratory abdominal surgery.

It will be the Duke of Edinburgh's first official engagement since the surgery.

Philip, 92, will travel to Edinburgh where he will hand out medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace said.

Others who may join the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh include William and Kate, who it has been suggested may decide to holiday at Balmoral, travelling there from Bucklebury in Buckinghamshire where they are currently spending family time at the Middleton's mansion.

[Rapunzel]

EC, I'm confused. It is her Scottish estate and she had to cool her heels for ten days until the "tourist season" was over to move into her own home???    What's the deal???

[EC]

EC, I'm confused. It is her Scottish estate and she had to cool her heels for ten days until the "tourist season" was over to move into her own home???    What's the deal???

The castle is open to tourists for a couple of months per year. It isn't very big - comparatively speaking - so she frequently stays in one of the lodges until she can get some privacy. It's not like they show you the bathroom and she is in the bath at the time, but still - hundreds of people per day traipsing through your home while you are trying to read or watch TV can get annoying.

Balmoral is hers. Full stop. It is the one estate that is not Crown property but is the personal property of the monarch. It is open to the public at her whim.

[Rapunzel]

Thanks, EC