Something that defines the Royal Family is the number of castles, palaces and stately homes that are associated with it.
Whether it's Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, Windsor Castle or Kensington Palace, the Royal Family has an impressive portfolio of homes around the country.
And there is one stunning Scottish home that was bought for a shockingly low price.
The castle has never been lived in full-time by The Queen and is today used as a summer home for The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
The story of its purchase is featured in Netflix ’s The Crown - which royals fans raved about.
Princess Margaret called it ‘Mummy’s drafty castle’, and for good reason.
The Castle of Mey is situated in Caithness on the northern coast of Scotland. It is a four-and-a-half-hour journey from another of the Royal Family’s Scottish residences, Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.
It was built between 1566 and 1572 on the lands of Mey which belonged to the Bishops of Caithness.
But then it was purchased by the recently widowed Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother in 1952, following the death of her husband King George VI on February 6 of the same year.
While it is not known exactly how much the former Queen paid for the home- some say she was given it for free or that she paid £1, while others suggest she paid up to £100 (£2,951.53 today).
The Queen Mother brought the castle up to date by adding electricity and freshwater supplies.
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The Queen Mother usually visited the castle in August and October from 1955 until her final visit October 2001, before her death in March 2002.
The library was used as her private sitting room in later life and she was known to watch her favourite British comedies Fawlty Towers and Dad’s Army there.
The building is now owned by the Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust and it is open to the public between May and September every year.
It is however closed for ten days between the end of July and the beginning of August which is usually when the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visit the castle during the summer.
As of January 1, 2019, Prince Charles (who is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland) became the new president of the Castle of Mey Trust, as well as the sole trustee.
