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The British royal family gathered today at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where doctors announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died. Mourners stood at the gates of the private royal estate to pay tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and to witness this historic moment, one of many in this Scottish holiday home’s storied past.
Balmoral Castle, considered to be Scottish baronial and in the Gothic Revival style, has been one of the British royal family’s residences since 1852. Originally seducing Queen Victoria, who called it “this dear paradise,” Prince Albert bought it for her for £32,000. Architects John and William Smith were commissioned to bring the plans up to the royal standard by building a new castle and eventually demolishing the