Royals to celebrate first important milestone since the Queen died – and there are a few surprising guests invited

For the first time since the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal Family will embark on an emotional journey carrying on a tradition that was deeply important to Her Majesty. The family are all expected to join King Charles and Queen Camilla at Balmoral – continuing the family tradition which the late Queen insisted on. And the reports suggest that there’s an open invitation to all of the royals – and that includes Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Prince Andrew.

• The Royal Family will continue a tradition held close to Queen Elizabeth II’s heart as they spend quality time together at Balmoral
• The annual summer holiday this year apparently includes an open invitation from King Charles to his disgraced brother, Prince Andrew, as well as his estranged son Prince Harry
• In other royal news, who was ‘Backstairs Billy?’ The Queen Mother’s favourite aide who is the focus of a new play starring Downton Abbey icon

While there’s been hints that King Charles has been more than happy to put his own spin on being monarch – breaking away from some customs held firm by his late mother – he is set to continue one of her more heartfelt traditions.

Each summer, Her Majesty would abscond to Balmoral in Scotland – usually taking a holiday from August until October.

It was expected that the entire family would join for intervals throughout this time, and it was a sweet way in which the late Queen kept family at the forefront of everything.

Now, it’s being reported that King Charles and Queen Camilla are extending invites to the family to continue this – marking the first summer holidays since the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.

Perhaps inspired by the late Queen’s insistence on the importance of quality time acting as a ‘real’ family – coming together away from duties and the limelight – the King, it’s thought, has excluded nobody from the invite list.

Prince Andrew, for example, is thought to be joining, despite spending the last year or so out of the spotlight amid fallout from his publicised trial with Jeffrey Epstein victim, Virginia Giuffre.

As Andrew – who settled out of court with a clear stipulation that he wasn’t admitting any guilt in the crimes he was accused of – was stripped of his titles and duties, it has been suggested tensions between he and his brother, the King, have been high.

Some reports have even suggested King Charles wants Andrew to leave the Royal Lodge on Windsor, following the news he had been “evicted” from his offices in Buckingham Palace, too.  

Andrew isn’t the only royal invited despite less than cordial relations.

Several reports indicate an “open invitation” has been extended to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children.

While improbable the family will travel to Scotland from Montecito, California, it would be a special reunion for the family – who haven’t all been together since Charles’ first time meeting his youngest granddaughter, Lilibet, during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

How do the royals spend summer at Balmoral?

It’ll be a bittersweet time for the family, as Scotland was considered to be one of the late Queen's favourite places on Earth; she and her late husband Prince Philip even spent part of their honeymoon at Birkhall hunting lodge, located on the estate, in 1947.

Princess Eugenie has previously described the relaxing way the family come together at Balmoral, saying on ITV's Our Queen At Ninety, “It's the most beautiful place on earth. I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”

She added what you can expect from a summer at Balmoral. “Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there's always dogs – and people coming in and out all the time. It's a lovely base… for us to come and see them up there; where you just have room to breathe and run.”