The summer holidays have drawn to a close for another year, which means school is back in session for children across the nation – including the youngest members of the royal family.
It's now about that time when the post-holiday blues start to kick in as kids – and parents – delve back into routine school drop offs, lunch prep and homework after six weeks of unwinding.
Ever since he was a child, King Charles has spent his summer break relaxing in the Scottish Highlands at the royal family's residence in Balmoral. It's been a spot beloved by the monarch for decades, and a five-year-old Charles once looked so forlorn to be leaving Scotland in an old archival photo taken 72 years ago.
© Getty ImagesThe young royal was pictured on board the Royal Train on 31 May 1954 ahead of his return to London after the family's holiday at Balmoral Castle came to an end. Charles looked very smart in a shirt and tie with his hair combed to the side as he stared out of the window without a hint of a smile.
The Royal Train's history
The royal family's history with the train dates back to 1840 and was said to be the late Queen Elizabeth's "favourite way to travel". Only royals can travel on the train, which features multiple bedrooms and bathrooms and a dining room.
© Getty ImagesIn June 2025, it was announced the train would be decommissioned by early 2027 after decades of service.
"Just as so many parts of the Royal household's work have been modernised and adapted to reflect the world of today, so too, the time has come to bid the fondest of farewells as we seek to be disciplined and forward looking in our allocation of funding," Keeper of the Privy Purse James Chalmers said.
Charles' 'uniquely special' residence
Balmoral Castle has remained a "uniquely special" residence to King Charles ever since his summers spent there as a child.
"Since my earliest childhood, it has held, and continues to hold, a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself, and my late mother particularly treasured her time at Balmoral," Charles penned in the foreword to a new official guidebook about the estate. "It was here, in these most beloved of surroundings, that she chose to spend her final days."
© GettyHe also wrote: "With its buildings of startling individuality, which never fail to fascinate, and its precious, almost sacred, surrounding landscape, it is a place where there is constant change, yet everything remains unaltered, with a sense of timelessness which refreshes the soul."
Charles has since holidayed there with his own sons when they were growing up, and now spends summers there with William's three children.
