THE royals and UK Prime Ministers may get to stay in a sprawling castle each year – but life at Balmoral is certainly not a holiday for some.
Season four of The Crown dedicates an episode to “The Balmoral Test” – in honour of the unspoken code of conduct that all guests go through at the Scottish retreat.
In the episode, the suburban Margaret Thatcher and husband Denis secure an invite to Balmoral, as is tradition for PMs, but she fails miserably at the “test”.
Meanwhile, a young Diana arrives just as Maggie ends her less-than-impressive stay, but passes with flying colours.
So what do visitors need to do to survive the test?
Guests are apparently expected to join in with outdoor sports (mainly field sports), and have to change their outfit up to five times a day.
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![The Queen's biographer Ben Pimlott said Margaret Thatcher 'couldn't get away [from Balmoral] fast enough' after her real-life visit to the castle](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NINTCHDBPICT000541220103.jpg)
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