As Egypt celebrates the reopening of its Grand Egyptian Museum beside the pyramids of Giza, Britain is having its own pyramid moment, with Prince Albert’s memorial at Balmoral, Scotland, now in urgent need of repair – a victim of its own success, worn down by the feet of so many visitors.
Erected by Queen Victoria in 1862, following the death of her dear husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the monument bears the inscription: “To the beloved memory of Albert, the great and good Prince Consort, erected by his broken-hearted widow Victoria, 21st August 1862.”
Its granite cairn was shaped like an Egyptian pyramid to symbolise endurance and permanence – an architectural reflection of the Queen’s lasting devotion to her husband, styled in keeping with the Egyptomania that had swept Europe since Napoleon’s Description de l’Égypte (1808–1829).
Queen Victoria fell in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when he visited Britain in 1836. Following their meeting, she wrote to her uncle King Leopold I, to “thank him for the great happiness he had given her. [Albert] possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy”. The young couple married in February 1840 and remained inseparable until Albert’s death from typhoid in 1861.
Standing some eleven metres high, the Balmoral cairn has become severely eroded” due to the increasing number of walkers on the path leading to the monument, according to the Balmoral Estate.
The 50,000-acre estate in Aberdeenshire has been owned by the royal family since Albert purchased it in 1852 and contains sixteen cairns scattered across Deeside, as well as another on the neighbouring Birkhall estate. Traditionally, cairns are man-made mounds of stone built to mark a summit, boundary, or memorial. At Balmoral, they commemorate members of the royal family and key events in their lives.
Albert’s is the largest on the estate – and the only one in the form of a pyramid. The first cairn was erected in 1858 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, to Prince Frederick of Prussia. Others followed, including one for Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, and more recently, one in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.
@myscottishjournal Did you know Scotland has its own Pyramid hidden in the trees near Balmoral? The walk from Crathie car park to Prince Albert’s Cairn (also known as the Balmoral Pyramid) is a scenic circular route of around 3.6 miles, and takes roughly 2 to 2 and a half hours to walk there and back. The trail includes a steady ascent of about 172 meters, with some steep sections, but the route offers picturesque views over the Balmoral Estate and the Cairngorms., and the final reveal when you reach Albert’s Cairn is well worth it! #scotland #scottish #scottishhighlands #scotlandexplore #lovescotland #scotlandtravel #visitscotland #balmoral ♬ Fallen Through Time – Eynhallow
Balmoral remained a royal favourite long after Victoria’s reign – in fact, it was where Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022.
The Estate announced in a statement, “a major repair and restoration project on the ground immediately surrounding the cairn”.
“This work will restore the landscape around the cairn and stabilise the structure of the Pyramid for future generations to enjoy”.
The estate apologised for the inconvenience caused by the site’s closure and urged visitors to respect the area and follow staff guidance while the restoration work is ongoing.
While Queen Victoria clearly mastered the art of eternal love, it seems the secret of eternal construction – the Great Pyramids have stood for more than four millennia – has never quite passed on to the builders of Victorian Scotland.
