Queen begins Balmoral holiday with two-week stay at Prince Philip’s favorite summer cottage

The Queen has traveled to Balmoral in Scotland for her annual summer holiday, starting with a fortnight stay at Prince Philip's favorite countryside retreat. 

• The Queen has traveled to Scotland to begin her summer break at Balmoral Estate. 
• Her Majesty will reportedly spend the first two weeks of her Highlands holiday at Craigowan Lodge, the adorable cottage in which she spent many summers with her late husband, Prince Philip. 
• In other royal news, ‘gorgeous’ Prince George birthday photo taken by Kate Middleton has got fans seeing double as they notice royal resemblance.
  

The Queen has traveled to Balmoral Estate in Scotland to begin her annual summer holiday, having spent the last couple of months busy with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and performing both virtual and in-person engagements. 

Her Majesty was spotted leaving Windsor Castle on Thursday in a Range Rover, wearing a floral yellow and purple dress, brown sunglasses, and her signature pearl jewelry. The sighting comes shortly after the 96-year-old monarch broke tradition for her guards at Buckingham Palace by allowing them to shelter from the blazing sun of the UK heatwave earlier this week. 

It remains unknown how the Queen will get to Balmoral from her Berkshire home, but it's possible she'll take a helicopter to speed up the journey in light of her ongoing mobility issues. 

She will most likely be joined by other members of the Royal Family during her summer vacation, with Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, and the Cambridges all expected to make a visit over the coming weeks. It's understood that Her Majesty will remain at the Highlands estate until September when her work calendar resumes for the autumn and winter. 

The Queen will not, however, be moving into Balmoral Castle straight away. The £115m property remains open to tourists until the end of July, which means it's currently not ready for the royal matriarch to take up her residence. 

In the meantime, she will stay at Craigowan Lodge, a private cottage that was famously loved by her late husband. Her Majesty and Prince Philip, who died aged 99 last year, spent much of their summer downtime at the seven-bedroom bolthole in the years before the Duke of Edinburgh's passing. 

Located about a mile away from Balmoral Castle, the stone abode has recently undergone a £20k refurbishment to accommodate the monarch's mobility needs. In March, it was reported that the Queen had a wheelchair-friendly lift fitted at the cottage, as well as a new security gate, a high-tech intercom system, and multiple CCTV cameras.