King Charles' remote castle bought for just £100 with an uninviting nickname

13 August 2023 , 13:15

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Castle Mey was bought by the Queen Mother as a DIY project in 1952 (Image: PA)

The royals are no stranger to a castle, with the family having an impressive property portfolio around the UK. However, there is one very remote home favoured by King Charles - and it was bought for just £100.

The Castle of Mey is the family's northernmost home, some four-and-a-half hours from Balmoral Castle, located in Caithness which is on the north coast of Scotland. It was bought as a fixer upper by the Queen Mother in 1952, and was nicknamed 'Mummy's drafty castle' by Princess Margaret.

The castle was built between 1566 and 1572 on an estate which has never been lived in full time but was frequently used as a summer retreat for King Charles and Queen Camilla when they were the Prince and Princess of Wales.

When the Queen Mother bought it following the death of King George VI that same year, it was practically derelict. There are reports she purchased it for as little as £1 but others suggest it was more like £100 - £2,951.53 in today's money.

The Queen Mother used her own funds to renovate the property (Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Charles and Camilla spent a lot of their summers at the remote location (PA)

She used her own funds to do up the castle, then known as Barrogill Castle, complete with running water and electricity. She then returned it to its former name, the Castle of Mey.

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The Queen Mother usually visited the castle in August and October from 1955 until her final visit October 2001, before her death in March 2002.

King Charles loves a remote hideaway to escape from public life. He has a home in rural Transylvania. It's a farmhouse in the small village of Viscri which he bought in 2006 after falling in love with the country following a visit in 1998.

He enjoys spending time at the location for a couple of days each year, with the guest house also rented out to the public. Known as the Blue House, it has seven double bedrooms with en-suites, a drawing room, dining room, lounge and kitchen.

The bedrooms are furnished exclusively with antique Transylvanian furniture and according to the guesthouse's website, there are no televisions or radios, in order to create an atmosphere "of peace and tranquillity".

Farmers still use horses and carts and cultivate their land with hoes and scythes, as if the industrial revolution has yet to reach their boundaries. In the early years of his visits, Charles and his security team reportedly slept in pull-out wooden truckle beds and used outside toilets.

Hannah Kane