Balmoral's £20k refurbishment sees the Queen's Scottish bolt hole get a serious upgrade

Balmoral's £20k refurbishment includes pretty dramatic structural changes as well as vital upgrades to historic location's security system

Balmoral's 20k refurbishment: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - JUNE 27: Queen Elizabeth II during the traditional Ceremony of the Keys at Holyroodhouse on June 27, 2022 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Members of the Royal Family are spending a Royal Week in Scotland, carrying out a number of engagements between Monday June 27 and Friday July 01, 2022.
(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Balmoral's £20k refurbishment is reportedly related to both the Queen's mobility issues as well as recent security breaches, which have been of great concern to the Royal Family.

Balmoral's £20k refurbishment is just in time for Her Majesty's annual pilgrimage to the Scottish estate. Recently, images of the Queen in Scotland, attending the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, delighted royal fans as the monarch appeared in great form. 

Although many drew attention to one of Queen Elizabeth's brooches, fans were also thrilled to see her seemingly walking unaided. Despite this apparent good news, following the Queen's health worries, The Sun reports that a wheelchair-friendly lift has been added to her favorite cottage on Balmoral estate.

Balmoral's 20k refurbishment: BALMORAL, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 02: Craig Gowan Lodge On Balmoral Estate, Scotland

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images))

Her Majesty's favorite cottage on the estate, Craigowan Lodge, is said to have had a Lifton Trio lift installed. As well as this, the Highlands home is due to be fitted with a state-of-the-art intercom system, a new security gate, and a bunch of CCTV cameras for good measure.

The Queen has made no suggestion that she wants to retire, but in the year of her Platinum Jubilee, she's taken a step back from many public events. It's also believed she's going to spend most of her time in Windsor Castle, as opposed to Buckingham Palace. 

It's unclear whether the monarch is going to take her annual break, which is usually from August to October, in the Aberdeenshire estate that's been in the British Royal Family since 1852. 

Balmoral's 20k refurbishment: CRATHIE, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 1: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland) plant a tree at the Balmoral Cricket Pavilion, to mark the start of the official planting season for the Queen's Green Canopy (QGC), on October 1, 2021 near Crathie, Scotland. The QGC is a UK-wide Platinum Jubilee initiative which will create a lasting legacy in tribute to the Queen's 70 years of service to the nation, through a network of trees planted in her name.

(Image credit: Andrew Milligan-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

A short stay at her Highlands holiday home, back in May 2022, indicates that it's more than likely that she's keen as mustard to get back to the place she and Prince Philip loved so dearly. Balmoral's £20k refurbishment means that her stay will be a comfortable and safe one too.

Aoife Hanna
Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.