King Charles to ‘Stay Working’ During Balmoral Summer Break — Much Like Late Queen Elizabeth
King Charles is currently holed up at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, enjoying his annual summer break with family. On August 18, the monarch was formally welcomed outside the castle gates by the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and cheerfully patted their Shetland pony mascot. Despite being away from the hustle and bustle of royal life, Charles is expected to continue working in a limited capacity. His steady devotion to duty mirrors that of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, something that would've surely made her proud.
Although the King’s Balmoral retreat offers him a break, he is expected to keep up with essential daily updates. As reported by GB News, mirroring his late mother, Charles will spend his break reviewing official papers from his daily ‘red boxes,’ meeting with officials, and undertaking a limited number of engagements. Queen Elizabeth was celebrated for her unwavering dedication to the Crown, continuing her duties at Balmoral until her final days. Just two days before her passing on September 8, 2022, she met Prime Minister Liz Truss at the castle. It was reported that during her Balmoral holidays, she read her diplomatic papers in the 'red boxes' delivered daily, received audiences, and attended public engagements.
In the book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, royal author Robert Hardman wrote of how the Queen's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, was planning the days after her death, when a footman brought in one of her red boxes. He told the Daily Mail, "It was the last one that had gone up to the Queen before her death. Like all red boxes, it had just two keys, one for the monarch and the other for her duty private secretary." The author claimed that Young found that she had left a sealed letter to Charles and a private letter to him. He added, "Were they final instructions or final farewells? ...[She] had been completing her own last pieces of unfinished business."
Hardman’s book also described how the Queen continued to carry out her royal duties despite her failing health. One excerpt mentioned her last documented words in her diary. As per the Telegraph, he penned, "It could have been describing another normal working day starting in the usual way– 'Edward came to see me' – as she noted the arrangements which her private secretary, Sir Edward Young, had made for the swearing-in of the new ministers of the Truss administration." The Queen's meeting with Truss marked the first time she appointed a Prime Minister at Balmoral instead of Buckingham Palace, due to her health.
As for Charles's summer break, according to PEOPLE, he began his stay at Balmoral with a welcome ceremony. Wearing a kilt, the monarch, as per tradition, inspected the troops from the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and met the Shetland pony named Corporal Cruachan IV. The King smiled as he spoke with the pony’s handler, while the animal, unlike before, was on his best behaviour. Before leaving, he gave the pony a friendly pat on the nose.