King Charles‘ Balmoral Estate is the royal family’s Scottish retreat. It is the place where Queen Elizabeth spent her final days and where the royals summered for generations. However, there is a secret structure located on the grounds of Balmoral, a pyramid with ties to Queen Victoria’s husband.
Balmoral is a sprawling 50,000-acre estate located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II, who died there on Sept. 8, 2022.
The property includes grouse moors, forestry, farmland, herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies. It also offers access to the public for fishing and hiking every spring, reported Architectural Digest.
However, it is also the location of a pyramid dedicated to Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert. It was erected in 1862 following the passing of her beloved husband in 1861 at the age of 42.
The pyramid, otherwise known as a cairn, is a structure made from stacked stones. The Sun reported that on the side of the structure is a message from Queen Victoria to her husband, which reads, “To the beloved memory of ALBERT, the great and good Prince Consort, erected by his broken-hearted widow VICTORIA. R. – Aug. 21, 1862.”
However, Prince Albert’s pyramid is not the only one on the estate. The one dedicated to Albert is the largest. What other royal family members are also memorialized with their own cairns on Balmoral’s estate?
There are a total of 16 pyramids on Balmoral’s estate. They were erected to commemorate members of the British royal family and significant life moments.
Surprisingly, the majority of these structures were commissioned by Queen Victoria. The cairns commemorate the marriages of Victoria’s children, Princess Royal, Prince Albert Edward, Princess Alice, Princess Helena, Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, Prince Leopold, Princess Beatrice and Prince Alfred.
There is also one dedicated to Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. Two cairns were also constructed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Per the home’s official website, visitors can visit the Balmoral pyramids. There is a small parking charge.
The most popular pyramid, Prince Albert’s, is near the River Dee. The river is where then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana posed for their first official photographs during their honeymoon.
Prince Albert is not buried inside the Balmoral Pyramid. He was laid to rest at Frogmore House & Gardens in Windsor. Queen Victoria was interred in the mausoleum alongside him when she died forty years later in 1901.
