Prince Harry has always had a special connection to Scotland, having spent many summers at the Royal Family’s beloved Balmoral estate before he stepped down from the monarchy for a new life in the US.
Despite spending many happy years at the Aberdeenshire property, the Duke of Sussex has since revealed that he has some “complicated memories” at Balmoral and revealed that visiting it has often been difficult.
Writing in his tell-all memoir Spare, Harry recalled one particular visit to the Scottish estate in the wake of a tabloid scandal which he said was not a pleasant experience.
The 40-year-old prince cited the moment he was snapped playing strip billiards at hotel in Las Vegas in 2012. Harry was photographed in the nude and the photos soon emerged in headlines globally.
However, it was after this incident in the summer that prompted him to make a trip to Balmoral to visit his family and it was this moment that evoked some complicated emotions from the past.
The dad-of-two spoke about the hotel moment in detail and although he wrote about it in a humorous tone, he explained the deep sense of shame he felt.
He said: “I berated myself: How had I let it happen? How had I been so stupid? Why had I trusted other people? My sense of guilt and shame made it hard at moments to draw a clean breath.”
The duke continued: “I fled to Scotland, met up with my family at Balmoral. It was August and they were all there. Yes, I thought, yes, the one thing missing from this Kafkaesque nightmare is Balmoral, with all its complicated memories and the pending anniversary of Mummy’s death just days away.”
However, Harry was surprisingly met with empathy from his father King Charles about his nude antics.
He wrote: “Soon after my arrival I met Pa at nearby Birkhall. To my surprise, to my relief, he was gentle. Even bemused. He felt for me, he said, he’d been there, though he’d never been naked on a front page.”
As Harry mentioned in his book, Balmoral holds some traumatic memories for the duke with it being the place where he and William first received the tragic news of their mother, Princess Diana’s death from a car crash in August 1997.
Since then, the Royal Family have continued to use the residence, which was a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth’s, for their summer holiday location of choice.
Harry now resides in Montecito, California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two kids after stepping down from his royal duties in 2020.
The Sussexes’ reportedly enjoyed some time with the late Queen at Balmoral shortly after their royal wedding in 2018 but are not believed to have visited as a couple since with the former Suits actress not stepping on UK soil since the funeral of the former monarch in 2022.
It’s believed their kids Prince Archie, five, and three-year-old Princess Lilibet have never visited the Scottish estate.
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