The Queen gets a royal welcome as she begins her summer holiday

The Queen has received a royal welcome as she arrived at Balmoral for her annual summer holiday. 

No doubt after months of royal duties and engagements, she’s ready to kick off her shoes and put up the royal feet for a bit of rest and relax. 

Read more: Palace shares sweet photo of Queen and Philip as he retires

Arriving at Balmoral in a powder pink suit and matching hat, Her Majesty was greeted by at the gates by The Royal Regiment of Scotland in a guard of honour, and the cutest pony you’ve ever seen!

 

Earlier today, The Queen was welcomed to Balmoral Castle by Balaklava Company, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland and the regiment’s mascot Cruachan. Her Majesty will spend the rest of the summer at Balmoral before returning to her duties in the autumn. ?Ministry of Defence

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Aug 7, 2017 at 9:46am PDT

The Queen was welcomed to Balmoral Castle today by @The_SCOTS ' Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and their mascot Cruachan pic.twitter.com/VcDzhvqS9Q

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) August 7, 2017

There’s a bit of a back story to the pony, as it turns out he and the Queen are well acquainted. 

Read more: Queen Mother honoured in photo tribute on birthday

In fact, the adorable Shetland pony, Cruachan IV, who is a mascot of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, attempted to feast on the Queen’s bouquet last time they met!

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In the incident at Stirling Castle, where she was marking 70 years since being appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Queen was forced to shoo the naughty pony away.

Embed from Getty Images

Thankfully, Cruachan IV was better behaved this time around – although the Queen, rather sensibly, did not carry flowers this time around. 

No doubt he received a dressing down over proper royal etiquette after his rather rude behaviour last time!

The Queen’s arrival at Balmoral follows her having spent the past couple of weeks at Craigowan Lodge on the Aberdeenshire estate, which is also referred to as the Enchanted Manor. It sounds like a magical place to stay!

She spent some time inspecting the guard of honour and greeting well wishers, although she was probably keen to get into holiday mode. 

She is expected to stay at Balmoral until early October. We wish her a relaxing holiday!

What do you think the Queen does when she’s on holidays?