King welcomed to Balmoral by guard of honour – and the troops’ Shetland pony mascot

Traditional greeting marks start of monarch’s summer stay at Royal family’s beloved Scottish Highlands estate

The King has been welcomed to Balmoral by a guard of honour and a Shetland pony as he takes up summer residence in the Royal family’s Scottish home.
King Charles, 75, wore a kilt while inspecting the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of Balmoral Castle on Monday.
The guard of honour marks the start of the monarch’s summer stay at the family’s beloved Scottish Highlands estate, where the late Queen spent her final days in 2022.
It is tradition for the monarch to inspect troops when taking up residence and a ceremony was held for the King as a small crowd observed from behind the gates.
The Shetland pony Corporal Cruachan IV is mascot of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Pipes and Drums of The Royal Corps of Signals welcomed the King’s arrival.
The ceremony comes after Buckingham Palace revealed extraordinary details about Their Majesties’ private lives at Balmoral as it opened up the royal residence to the public for the first time in June.
More than 3,000 guests who bought £100 a “golden ticket” were granted an unprecedented peek at the property on a “bespoke” 50-minute tour of seven rooms by a group of 15 guides.
Before entering, however, they were required to put dust covers on their shoes and hand over their mobile phones, with all photography banned.
Until this summer, the interior of the vast castle has largely remained out of bounds to members of the public, with tours limited to just the ballroom, the grounds and the gardens.
When the Balmoral estate announced in April that it would be hosting private tours for the first time since the castle was completed in 1855, the tickets sold out in two hours.
The King has resumed the tradition adopted by his mother of spending an extended amount of time in the Highlands over the summer. The late Queen usually resided at Balmoral until the end of September or early October.