Princess Diana reportedly never enjoyed the royal family’s treasured summer ritual of retreating to Balmoral Castle. The news comes as members of the royal household’s annual visit to the sprawling Scottish estate nears. Queen Elizabeth II spent part of every summer there until her passing at the castle in 2022. Today, King Charles III and senior royals carry on the tradition.
Former Royal chef claims late Princess Diana wasn’t a fan of this popular tradition
For decades, the British royal family’s summer at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire has been one of its most cherished traditions. The fortress, gifted to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852, became the place where generations of royals escaped public duties and gathered for informal family meals.
That said, Princess Diana, according to ex-royal chef Darren McGrady, wasn’t as fond of it.
“It wasn’t her,” McGrady revealed to InStyle. “She wasn’t an outdoor person or into horse riding, because she fell off a horse when she was young. For her, the closest she would get was pulling and walking [Prince] William with his little Shetland pony, Smokey, around the estate. That was as close as she got to the horses.”
McGrady said the late princess would have preferred to stay in London at Kensington Palace. There she could browse Harvey Nichols and spend afternoons with friends over lunch, things she adored. “She didn’t like Balmoral at all,” he added.
Balmoral was where Diana honeymooned with Prince Charles in 1981. Her former royal butler, Paul Burrell, once noted that staying at the castle could feel overwhelming for newcomers. It came with strict etiquette around titles, drink times, dinner talk, and determining whether you were accepted.
In conversations with biographer Andrew Morton for Diana: Her True Story, the late Princess of Wales addressed the idea that she disliked Balmoral. “The myth about me hating Balmoral—I love Scotland, but just the atmosphere drains me to nothing,” she had said.
For Queen Elizabeth, though, Balmoral was her favorite place on earth. McGrady recalled her arriving in early summer, ditching the tiara for a headscarf, and just being Granny and Mum.
