Victoria with John Brown at Balmoral

The second visit of a United Kingdom monarch to Scotland was in 1842 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert disembarked at Leith.

Their exploration of Perthshire, walking, reading and deer-stalking, was so pleasurable that they returned annually. In 1852 they bought Balmoral and had the castle built.

The Queen’s Scottish memoirs and paintings of the scenery were extremely popular and her love of tartan ensured publicity and a healthy business for the tweed industry.