Queen Elizabeth is her "most relaxed" when at Balmoral.
Queen Elizabeth
Sir Kenneth Scott, who was one of the Queen's personal secretaries until 1996, has revealed the monarch and her husband Prince Philip are able to live life like a normal couple whilst at the country retreat.
He shared: "Balmoral is where she can be at her most relaxed. She stays there until the beginning of October, when she returns to London. She rides in the mornings, drives round the estate to visit tenants, and even goes into the neighboring town, Ballater, from time to time to do some shopping. Once, in a Ballater shop, she met another customer, who said, 'You look just like the Queen!,' to which Her Majesty replied, 'How very reassuring!'
"At Balmoral and at Sandringham she likes to take her guests, including bemused prime ministers, for picnic suppers in a log cabin on the estate. The Duke of Edinburgh cooks the barbecue, and the Queen lays the table and helps clean up afterward."
The 90-year-old royal also enjoys taking time each morning to read letters from the public and her close friends, who are asked to put a particular mark on the front of the envelope so they can be put into a separate pile.
Writing for Vanity Fair magazine, Kenneth added: "Throughout the year the Queen's day begins quite early with reading the newspapers and looking at the vast number of letters she receives.
"In London and Balmoral she would have been awakened by a bagpiper playing outside her window. She obviously cannot respond to all of the letters, but she takes a sample, reads them, and writes a note about how she would like them replied to. Personal friends put a special mark on the envelope of their letters so that they can be extracted from the pile."
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