King Charles reopens Balmoral to the public - but is he still on holiday there?

His Majesty King Charles III has been enjoying a well-deserved break at Balmoral Castle over the summer, alongside his wife Queen Camilla, but now the property has reopened its doors to members of the public. But is the monarch still there?

Well, his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II would normally stay at the Scottish estate until early October, so if he's following suit, there may still be a few weeks of downtime for the royal.

"On Wednesday, the official Instagram account for Balmoral Castle announced the reopening, writing: "We look forward to welcoming you back to Balmoral as we prepare to re-open our gates to the public.

"From Thursday 14th September, visitors can enjoy a relaxed walk in the grounds or snap a selfie with the castle, with no admission fee. Open 5 days a week, closed on Sunday and Monday."

Charles won't be staying in the main castle though, where the public can tour as there are plenty of other accommodation options on site.

The royal couple have their own private retreat, Birkhall, and the monarch has described the property as "a unique haven of cosiness and character" in the past.

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It is even where Charles and Camilla spent some of their honeymoon following their wedding in 2005. 

Over the years, we've seen glimpses of the home inside and out, including the grand entrance to the residence and their cosy, antique-filled living room.

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In Prince Harry's tell-all memoir, Spare he also details a lesser-know property on site, a secluded lodge called Inchnabobart. The royal recalled a previous summer, when he was a child, where the royals gathered there for a family party.

© Photo: Instagram

He wrote: "We came to the last wooden bridge, the tires making that soothing lullaby I always associated with Scotland. Da dong, da dong...da dong, da dong. Just below us, a burn seethed after recent heavy rain up top. The air was thick with midges. Through the trees, in the last moments of daylight, we could faintly make out huge stags peering at us. Now we arrived in a great clearing, an old stone hunting lodge to the right, the cold stream running down to the river through the wood on our left, and there she was. Inchnabobart!"

MORE: Why Zara and Mike Tindall have not joined Prince William and Princess Kate at Balmoral

The story continued: "We ran inside the lodge. The warm kitchen! The old fireplace! I fell onto the fender, with its worn red cushion, and inhaled the smell of that huge pyramid of silver birch firewood stacked beside it. If there’s a smell more intoxicating or inviting than silver birch, I don’t know what it could be. Grandpa, who’d set off half an hour before us, was already tending his grill at the back of the lodge." It certainly sounds idyllic!