AN EXTRAORDINARY new royal tour inside Balmoral will give punters the chance to see the room where the Queen was last photographed before she died.
And a preview of the tour revealed that the King and Queen dine side by side so they can be “in the hearts of their guests”.
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The first “golden ticket” tourists will have the opportunity to go behind the scenes at the Royal Family’s Scottish castle tomorrow.
And The Sun on Sunday this week took a look behind the castle, revealing secrets about the lives of the Royal Family.
Charles, 75, decided to open the doors for the first time, giving 3,400 lucky VIP ticket holders to “raise public awareness” of the royal properties.
It can be revealed that the 150-year-old tradition of a piper playing at Royal Family events in the main hall still continues.
But the king and queen – who will welcome the royal family and a selection of friends and guests this summer – sit together at the table, rather than at one end.
Lucky ticket holders will also have the opportunity to peek into the Drawing Room, where the Queen posed for her final photograph in front of the castle’s only working fireplace.
But ghoulish punters will be banned from taking photos and the king has revamped the room with a new Hunting Stewart tartan carpet and chintz curtains.
The King also moved Queen Victoria’s chair, famously depicted in an episode of The Crown with Margaret Thatcher accidentally sitting on it, to the Drawing Room.
Inside the Library, which is now used by Charles as his office when he is at Balmoral, there is a red leather and wooden chair, with a telephone, wooden letter holder, silver inkwell and blotting paper – overlooking the garden submerged.
A statue of Prince Albert, who rotates on a pedestal, sits above a shelf of picnic blankets the family uses on trips to the mountains.
Visitors can for the first time gaze upon decades of real art and spectacular historical artifacts – usually reserved for royal eyes only.
Sarah Hoare, curator, said: “We are eternally grateful to His Majesty the King, King Charles and Queen Camilla for giving us permission to start these tours.
“It’s their vacation home. There are no state visits here. We don’t have state rooms. It’s their private home.
“I’ve worked here for 10 years and I’ve never seen the inside of a window or through a blind, so when I saw the insides I got goosebumps.”
James Hamilton-Goddard, Visitor Enterprise Manager, said tickets sold out within two hours and that guests will come from “all over the world”.
He added: “It’s a big deal. The king wanted it to happen, we made it happen.”
Angie Marr, another guide, said: “This is the first time in history this has happened, you are the first members of the public to see this, so you are seeing a moment in history today.”
The king, who is currently staying at nearby Birkhall, visited Balmoral on Thursday night to inspect the new signage in the gardens and is expected to return to the castle the day before the first members of the public enter.
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