King Charles has a special playhouse to entertain his grandchildren, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis, at his summer holiday home.
Balmoral estate in Scotland, which covers 50,000 acres, normally hosts the royal family during the summer. While the monarch offered an unprecedented look inside his special playground in the documentary King Charles III: The Coronation Year, a resurfaced photo reveals what the area looked like when he was a child.
To mark Father's Day, King Charles took to his official Instagram account to share a black and white throwback photo of him standing on a wooden swing set, looking down at his sister Princess Anne. Their late father, Prince Philip, looked smart in a suit as he carried out parenting duties, pushing his two eldest kids on the traditional apparatus.
© PA ImagesFans showered Philip with praise in the comments section, writing: "I love this photo with Prince Phillip & his 2 oldest children, showing his 'dad' antics!!" and: "Prince Philip was truly amazing. A man of honour, service, and duty."
Taken in 1955, the original photo also includes a young Queen Elizabeth who watched her family play in the private grounds with their pet dog, in front of a garden cottage.
© CENTRAL PRESS/AFP via Getty ImagBalmoral estate was acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852, and it has been home to several British monarchs since. It has borne witness to some historic events, including Queen Elizabeth II's death at the age of 96 in 2022.
© GettyHer late Majesty's love of the estate was well documented, with her famously stating: "You can go out for miles and never see anybody, there are endless possibilities."
Wendy house
While it has long acted as a private residence, King Charles ushered in an era of change following the death of his mother, opening the doors for the first time ever to the public in 2024.
Before this, the only documented peeks inside were via photos or videos released by the royal family. In King Charles' documentary, Charles and Camilla were spotted strolling around the grounds of Birkhall on the Balmoral estate with their pet Jack Russell Terrier, Beth.
© Clarence HouseAs Camilla ran after her pet pooch on the bridge over the wide, shallow water of River Muick, she explained her grandchildren love to spend "hours" playing in the secluded area.
"Every child, when they come here, rush there and bounce about on the bridge for hours," she said, before walking past Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret's former Wendy house, which we imagine is another hot spot for the likes of Princess Charlotte, Mia Tindall and Prince Archie when they visit.
The mini thatched house features a wooden exterior and a rounded roof with a small turret at the top. A pale green picket fence separates the woodland forest around the Wendy house and the manicured lawns that lead up to Birkhall.
