Editing Balmoral Castle (section)

===Royal acquisition===
[[File:Balmoral Castle by George Washington Wilson.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Balmoral Castle, 1860s, albumen print [[carte de visite]]]]

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert first visited Scotland in 1842, five years after she acceded to the throne and two years after their marriage. During this first visit they stayed at [[Edinburgh]], and at [[Taymouth Castle]] in Perthshire, the home of [[John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane]].<ref name=garden/> They returned in 1844 to stay at [[Blair Castle]], and in 1847, when they rented [[Ardverikie House]] by [[Loch Laggan]].<ref>Millar, pp. 23, 31</ref> Frequent rain during the last trip led [[James Clark (physician)|Sir James Clark]], the queen's doctor, to recommend [[River Dee, Aberdeenshire|Deeside]] instead, for its healthier climate.<ref>Millar, p. 39</ref>

Sir Robert Gordon died in 1847 and his lease on Balmoral reverted to Lord Aberdeen. In February 1848 an arrangement was made that Prince Albert would acquire the remaining part of the lease on Balmoral, together with its furniture and staff, without having seen the property first.<ref name=Balmoral/>{{rp|5}}

The royal couple arrived for their first visit on 8 September 1848.<ref>Millar, pp. 40–41</ref> Victoria found the house "small but pretty",<ref>Millar, p. 41</ref> and recorded in her diary that: "All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils".<ref name=gordon/> The surrounding hilly landscape reminded them of [[Thuringia]], Albert's homeland in Germany.<ref name=Balmoral/>{{rp|5}}

The house was soon confirmed to be too small, and in 1848, John and William Smith were commissioned to design new offices, cottages, and other ancillary buildings.<ref name=millar55/> Improvements to the woodlands, gardens and estate buildings were also being made, with the assistance of the landscape gardener James Beattie, and possibly the painter [[James Giles (painter)|James Giles]].<ref name=garden/>

Major additions to the old house were considered in 1849,<ref name=millar55>Millar, p. 55</ref> but by then negotiations were under way to purchase the estate from [[James Duff, 4th Earl Fife]]. After seeing a [[corrugated iron]] cottage at the [[Great Exhibition of 1851]], Prince Albert ordered a prefabricated iron building for Balmoral from E. T. Bellhouse & Co., to serve as a temporary ballroom and dining room.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stats.uwo.ca/faculty/bellhouse/chapter4.pdf |title=E.T. Bellhouse and Co. Engineers and Iron Founders |work=David Bellhouse and Sons, Manchester |author=Bellhouse, David |year=2000 |access-date=23 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615114839/http://www.stats.uwo.ca/faculty/bellhouse/chapter4.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was in use by 1 October 1851, and would serve as a ballroom until 1856.<ref name="Millar, p.59">Millar, p. 59</ref>

The sale was completed in June 1852, the price being £32,000 ({{Inflation|UK|32000|1852|r=-5|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) and Prince Albert formally took possession that autumn.<ref name=garden/><ref name=Balmoral/>{{rp|8}}<ref name=millar56>Millar, p. 56</ref> The neighbouring estate of [[Birkhall]] was bought at the same time, and the lease on [[Abergeldie Castle]] secured as well. To mark the occasion, the ''[[Balmoral cairns|Purchase Cairn]]'' was erected in the hills overlooking the castle, the first of many cairns on the estate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/crieff-dykers-build-jubilee-cairn-2728408|title=Crieff dykers build Jubilee cairn for the Queen|newspaper=Daily Record|date=24 August 2012|access-date=7 October 2014}}</ref>