The Castle of Mey In Scotland: The Queen Mother's Castle

The much loved Queen Mother who lived to the ripe old age of 101, had her very own castle in Scotland.

Below, she is pictured below with her pet Corgi “Honey” outside The Castle of Mey in 1955.

For those of you who devoured the Netflix series The Crown, as House Crazy Sarah did, you will recall the episode where the Queen Mother acquired her very own castle.

She really did come across the run-down estate by chance and purchased it as a recently widowed woman in 1952 for the token payment of £100. Queen Elizabeth II then funded an extensive three-year renovation that included the installation of bathrooms and electricity.

The Castle of Mey was the only home owned outright by the Queen Mother and is the most northerly inhabited castle on the British mainland.

The Queen Mother‘s ‘dear little castle by the sea’ was her beloved Scottish retreat.

Situated in Caithness, about 6 miles west of John o’ Groats, it is said that in good weather there are magnificent views from the castle north to the Orkney Islands.

After the untimely death of her husband, King George VI, the widowed royal healed by spending several weeks of the year at the Castle of Mey, mostly in August and October.

As depicted in The Crown, the castle was in a rather primitive, run-down state when the Queen Mother purchased it.

But the castle has a long and illustrious history.

The Castle of Mey was built by George, the 4th Earl of Caithness, for his second son William Sinclair. But when visiting the family seat Girnigoe Castle in 1573, William was murdered by his older brother John, who had been imprisoned there for about six years by his father. John had been planning an escape but William found out about it and told their father. John was in turn murdered and the castle went to the third son, George Sinclair, who changed the name of the castle to Barrogill Castle. How’s that for family rivalries?

The castle then became the seat of the Earls of Caithness for the next one hundred years.

In 1819 the twelfth Earl commissioned the architect, William Burn, to make various alterations to the castle. This was when the grand entrance and the dining room were added.

George, the fifteenth Earl died at the age of 30; he had never married and had no children, so he left the castle to his friend F. G. Heathcote, on condition that he changed his name to Sinclair. Heathcote’s widow eventually sold it to Captain F. B. Imbert-Terry, who subsequently sold it to Her Majesty in 1952.

The Queen Mother noticed Barrogill Castle while staying with Commander and Lady Doris Vyner at the House of the Northern Gate on Dunnet Head, a short distance to the west.

Despite its poor condition, the Queen Mother purchased the castle that year and changed the castle’s name from Barrogill Castle back to the original name, The Castle of Mey.

Let’s have a look inside the remodeled castle.

The grand hall in the entranceway features this ornate staircase.

The Drawing Room

The Queen Mother put her feminine touch on the castle decor, so it is both cozy and comfortable, as you can see in the drawing room.

The Queen Mother used the castle every August for three weeks with a further week in October until her death in 2002, and the property then went to The Castle of Mey Trust.

The Castle and Gardens of Mey are open to the public between May and September every year with a tea room, shop, and animal center.

It is now also possible to stay in The Granary Lodge, a 10 bedroom Bed and Breakfast accommodation on the estate which was renovated by the Prince’s Trust (now the King’s Trust).

The Dining Room

The estate, however, is closed for 10 days between the end of July and the beginning of August, when King Charles and Queen Camilla usually visit the castle during the summer.

Since the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, Charles has spent the first week of every August there, honoring his grandmother’s birthday on the 4th and carrying out royal engagements as well as personal pursuits.

The Castle of Mey also once hosted Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, for a summer holiday.

The Library

However, not everyone shared the Queen Mother’s fondness for the 16th-century property. Her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, is on record as describing the castle as a ‘horrible place’ and as ‘mummy’s drafty castle’.

Princess Margaret disliked the property so much she told her mother: ‘I can’t think why you have such a horrible place as the Castle of Mey.’

To which Her Majesty apparently replied: ‘Well, darling, you needn’t come again.’

Touché!

The Queen Mother once said of her Scottish castle: ‘One feels so beautifully far away.’

It was her private place to retreat from the pressures of London and the busy royal life.

She even went as far as requesting that a no-fly zone be imposed over the Highland retreat after being woken up from a nap by a passing aircraft.

Staff at the castle said the Queen Mother would take an afternoon nap at around midday after her first drink of the day – a mixture of one part gin and two parts fortified wine.

The Kitchen at The Castle of Mey

The kitchen feels almost frozen in time from when the Queen Mother owned the castle.

The Queen Mother’s Bedroom

Princess Margaret’s Bedroom

The Coral Bedroom

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On March 30, 2002, the Queen Mother died at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, at the age of 101 and 238 days.

The Castle of Mey was gifted to the public as a historical building, with the only exception being when it is used by King Charles and Queen Camilla. It is closed to the public when the King is in residence.

Now, guests can enjoy an exclusive royal dining experience inside its royal walls. King Charles has recently agreed to open its doors to paying diners.

The Gardens at The Castle of Mey

The Castle of Mey is also known for its extensive gardens, where guests can wander through the footpaths where the Queen Mother once found her solace.