King Charles to invite special guests to Balmoral this summer

The King and Queen spend their summer break at Balmoral in August and Their Majesties are set to welcome new guests at their Scottish residence.

Like Queen Elizabeth II , Charles has followed his late mother's custom of inviting the prime minister to join him at his Aberdeenshire retreat.

Following the UK general election, Labour leader Keir Starmer has become the new prime minister, with the King officially appointing him during an audience at Buckingham Palace last Friday.

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Following in tradition, Keir and his wife, Victoria , are likely to be invited to Balmoral by the King during the Parliament summer recess.

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Former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, were pictured joining the King and Queen at Crathie Kirk church for their first and what would be their only Balmoral stay last summer.

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Typically, the King and Queen are also joined by members of their families, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.

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What have other Prime Ministers said about Balmoral?

Former PM and Conservative leader Boris Johnson and his wife, Carrie Johnson , took their eldest child, Wilfred, to visit the late Queen at Balmoral in 2021 – her first without Prince Philip.

Boris also said Queen Elizabeth II was "bright and focused" in their last meeting before he tendered his resignation to Her Late Majesty at Balmoral in 2022.

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David Cameron once said there was not much "chillaxing" at Balmoral, with the royals spending their time on outdoor pursuits.

At royal residences, aides meticulously unpack luggage for guests.

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Cherie Blair said in her autobiography her son Leo was conceived at Balmoral after she left her contraception at home out of embarrassment before her annual weekend stay there with husband and then-prime minister Sir Tony Blair.

"In 1998 – I had been extremely disconcerted to discover that everything of mine had been unpacked," she wrote. "Not only my clothes, but the entire contents of my distinctly ancient toilet bag with its range of unmentionables.

"This year I had been a little more circumspect, and had not packed my contraceptive equipment out of sheer embarrassment. As usual up there, it had been bitterly cold, and what with one thing and another…"

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And following the late Queen's death in September 2022, Theresa May paid tribute to the monarch by recalling a funny anecdote from her time at Balmoral. Hear what she had to say in the clip below…