Queen, 95, has ‘wheelchair-friendly’ lift fitted to favourite Scottish house after quitting Buckingham Palace for good

As she approaches her 70th year on the throne, the Queen wants to spend “far more” time at her favourite Highlands house.

Craigowan Lodge, on the Balmoral estate, is being surrounded with a steel ring.

According to royal observers, it is one of the 95-year old monarch’s favourite residences.

A £20,000 lift has been installed in the cottage ahead of her ambitions to spend more time at the Scottish Highlands home.

Craigowan Lodge will also get a new security gate, a state-of-the-art intercom system, and a string of CCTV cameras.

The “wheelchair-friendly” Lifton Trio lift is the largest in its range — and comes after sources confirmed the monarch has been struggling with mobility.

She has been unable to walk her beloved corgis due to her requirement for a walking stick.

The lift can carry three adults or a wheelchair passenger, which means the Queen, who is 95, will no longer have to use the stairs to get to her chamber.

She visits Craigowan Lodge, which is located on the Balmoral estate, twice a year, once in April and once in the summer.

Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire is only a mile away from the rustic seven-bedroom stone cottage. In 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana spent their honeymoon in the lovely retreat.

A Balmoral insider said: “For many years we have thought it would be the perfect place for the Queen to spend more time when she’s older. It’s one of her favourite places in the country.

“With the proper lift and now this new security, it can effectively be sealed off so she can spend much more time there quietly in her late nineties.”

Plans have been lodged with the local council for the new security measures to stop vehicles or tourists getting near to the cottage — which currently lies empty for most of the year.

The security gate, intercom, and road cameras are scheduled to be approved this summer. At the only other access road to the secluded cottage, a security gate, fence, police sentry post, and CCTV are already in place.

“Craigowan is one of the Queen’s favourite houses,” stated Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine. She enjoys her time there.

“The idea of making it easier for her so she can spend more time there in the future is a great idea.

“It’s a big, big house. The security makes it very safe.

“It makes perfect sense. It’s a home she has always enjoyed and it gives her a bit of independence.”

Royal biographer Penny Junor said of the Queen: “I don’t think we will see her out and about as much as it’s quite clear her mobility is challenged.”

She added: “She does love Scotland but I would not think she would use it (the cottage) year round. It’s a lovely place for the summer but it’s pretty cold and bleak during the winter. But it is a very favourite place for her.”

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