On September 8, the British royal family announced Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96. During her 70 year-long reign, she made history as being the longest British monarch to sit on the royal throne.
While the Royals are famous for living in various castles throughout London (particularly Buckingham Palace), the monarchy has multiple residences throughout the U.K. One of these homes is Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the Queen died and often spent several weeks vacationing there during the summer. The country home is not just known amongst royalty, though. It is also recognized by high-level English politicians, who have described the location as being more than just a centuries-old castle.
“[Balmoral Castle is] a vivid combination of the intriguing, the surreal and the utterly freaky,” former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair has said about the estate, per The Guardian in September 2016.
