Janice R. Andrews
Sir Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is at Balmoral Castle right now for his first official stay at the royal home since taking office. King Charles III is hosting Sir Keir and his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer. This is in line with a long-standing tradition in which UK prime ministers visit the king at the Scottish castle for a few days at the end of summer.
Since the 1800s, Balmoral Castle has been the Royal Family’s home in Scotland. It has been an important place for the government and the UK’s political leaders. The castle is in Aberdeenshire on a huge estate that covers 50,000 acres. The estate has grouse moors, forests, farms, and herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies. It is both a private getaway and a working estate.
This is a big deal because Sir Keir Starmer is the latest prime minister to stay at Balmoral during this visit. A lot of important people in history have stayed at Balmoral, including Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, and Sir Keir’s predecessor, Rishi Sunak. None of them had a bad time. People also remember the castle as the place where Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, which shows how important it is in recent royal history.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s long rule, many prime ministers visited Balmoral. These included David Cameron, Theresa May, Sir Edward Heath, and Liz Truss, who was chosen by the Queen two days before she died. Theresa May remembered that these trips often included casual moments. She told a funny story about dropping cheese at a lunch at Balmoral and realising that the Queen had seen the whole thing. “When I turned around, I saw that Her Majesty the Queen had been watching my every move,” May said. “She smiled when she saw me look at her.”
The visit of Sir Keir has been kept secret, and neither No. 10 Downing Street nor the Royal Family have made any public comments about it. Members of Parliament usually make these trips right before they come back from their summer break, which ends on Monday. During regular meetings of parliament, the King and the Prime Minister meet once a week behind closed doors to talk about government business. The official website for the Royal Family says that King Charles III is politically neutral but has the power to “advise and warn” his officers, including the Prime Minister.
Sir Keir Starmer’s trip to Balmoral is part of a long-standing custom between the British queen and its political leaders. This relationship combines the formalities of government with the casualties of a royal getaway.
