A copy of Hello! magazine tucked in the bedside cabinet of the Queen Mother's room
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Visitors to the late Queen Mother's summer retreat are being given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access.
Her unfussy bedroom at the Castle of Mey, painted in pale blue and with little in the way of furniture, was opened to the public on Tuesday.
Viewings, available until the end of September, will also include a guest bathroom and a dressing room.
The Caithness castle will be closed briefly, from 29 July until 11 August, when Prince Charles will stay.
Far from the sort of opulence you might expect from the sleeping quarters
of the Queen Mother, her bedroom, which is on display for the first time, is remarkably restrained.
With its light blue walls and matching carpet, it is one of the more
understated rooms in the castle.
The small and simply laid-out room contains only a few pieces of furniture,
including a dressing table, chest of drawers and wardrobe as well as the double
bed.
Perhaps the most surprising item in the room is the copy of Hello! on the
bedside table, one of the many magazines the Queen Mother liked to read.
Since the castle first opened to the public in 2002, the number of visitors
has gone from strength to strength and this year more than 200 coach parties
have booked in advance.
The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, which now operates the property on
the far north of the Scottish coast, also said that three cruise ships stopping
locally over the summer would bring in hundreds more visitors.
James Murray, the trust administrator, said there had always been interest in
the Queen Mother's bedroom.
He said: "People always asked where the bedrooms were.
"I never realised there was so much interest. I personally don't find the
bedrooms very exciting but I'm always willing to learn.
"The tourist board also told me that the bedrooms were interesting to the
visitors, so the decision was made to open them to the public."
Clothing room
Visitors will be able to view a number of other bedrooms which have not been
seen before.
One of the other rooms which is on public display for the first time
this year is the bedroom used by Sir Martin Gilliat, the Queen Mother's
long-serving private secretary.
His death in 1993 led to the room being used by Sir Ralph Anstruther, the
Queen Mother's treasurer.
The Queen Mother's clothing room has also been opened up for the first time,
as has Princess Margaret's room, although she never spent a night there.
The principal guest bedroom, known as Lady Doris Vyner's room after the family
that occasionally visited the castle, can also be viewed for the first time as
well as its accompanying bathroom.
The living quarters of the Queen Mother are open for views
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Mr Murray said interest in opening the castle to the public had remained
strong.
He said: "It's the only residence that you really see in close quarters how a
member of the Royal Family lived.
"We've kept it, as near as we can, exactly as it was when the Queen Mother
used to holiday here."
He added: "Our bookings are up on last year and now that Scrabster Pier is
open, the cruise ship market is one that we want to try and encourage."
The Castle of Mey ran its first full season of public opening last year with a
limited opening the year before.
Situated in the parish of Canisbay on the north coast, the castle, on a site
thought to have been originally occupied by a fortified granary, lies about 15
miles east of Thurso and six miles west of John O'Groats.
In 1952 the Queen Mother saw the castle during a stay at the nearby house of
Northern Gate on Dunnet Head.
Passed on
It was in poor condition but she began renovating and restoring both the
castle and its gardens.
The castle stands before the Pentland Firth and the Orkney Islands, only about
400 yards from the seashore.
It was built by George, the fourth Earl of Caithness, before he passed it to
his second son William Sinclair.
When he died, it went in turn to the third son George, who founded the family
of the Sinclairs of Mey which succeeded to the earldom in 1789.
The castle changed hands several times over the ensuing years before it came
into the possession of Captain FB Imbert-Terry in 1929. He later sold it to the
Queen Mother - the only property she ever owned.
One of the Queen's first poems to go on public display can also be seen at the
castle in its visitors book.
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It's the only residence that you really see in close quarters how a
member of the Royal Family lived
