Charles and Camilla’s favourite Scottish property that cost ‘less than £100’

Whilst the Royal Family might have an extensive portfolio of grand properties across the country, there is one estate which was bought for a surprisingly low price.

The Castle of Mey or as Princess Margaret reportedly nicknamed it “Mummys drafty castle”, is the family’s northernmost home and is located in Caithness, on the north coast of Scotland.

The castle was built between 1566 and 1572 on the lands of Mey which were property of the Bishops of Caithness and the historical home is a four and a half hour journey from Balmoral Castle.

The estate has never been permanently lived in but has frequently been used as a summer home for the King and Queen when they were still known as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

The circumstances around the purchase of the Castle of Mey were featured in the popular The Crown series on Netflix, the Express reports.

The property was almost derelict when it was bought by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1952, following the death of her husband King George VI on February 6 of the same year.

It’s rumoured that the former Queen was given the estate for free or that she paid just £1 while others say she paid up to £100 for it (£2,951.53 today).

The Queen Mother used her own funds to modernise the castle with electricity and freshwater supplies.

Upon its completion, she changed the original name from Barrogill Castle – as it was then known – to The Castle of Mey.

The Queen Mother regularly visited the castle in August and October from 1955 until her final visit in October 2001 before she passed away in March 2002.

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