Longest-reigning British monarch died at Highlands estate that had been a constant throughout her life

Braving the lashing rain outside the gates of Balmoral as the sombre news of the Queen’s death was announced were two A&E nurses from Portsmouth.

Samantha Cole and Tina Ferry had driven over from the Scottish coastal town of Peterhead where they were on holiday after hearing the news on the radio.

Ferry said: “It’s a moment in history; it’s like Diana. You will always remember where you were when it happened. I hope she hasn’t suffered and she passed away peacefully.”

Cole, standing beside her in a bright red coat, said she had always loved the royal family and had met Prince Charles when she lived in New Zealand. She also won tickets in a ballot to stand in Pall Mall in London to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.

“When you live abroad, you realise that the Queen and the royal family are loved everywhere. But you also realise how British you are when things happen, such as royal birthday parties and things like that.”

The longest-reigning monarch in British history died on Thursday afternoon surrounded by her children and grandchildren at the Scottish Highland estate that has been a constant throughout her life: where she spent childhood holidays with her sister Margaret, where her late husband Philip proposed to her and where she was said by those who knew her best to be at her happiest.

Throughout the day senior members of the royal family made their way to the Royal Deeside estate, in Aberdeenshire, arriving by plane and helicopter through rain and fog: her four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, along with her grandchildren Princes William and Harry, and the Duchess of Cornwall.

During the afternoon, the focus remained on the entrance to Balmoral, where the through road remained open and a handful of well-wishers huddled under umbrellas as heavy downpours soaked the police at the gates, watched by a growing contingent of national and international media.

The estate, near the village of Crathie, has been one of the main residences of the British royal family since it was bought by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, in 1852.

She began her traditional annual summer stay there on 21 July this year, but ongoing mobility issues meant that she remained on the estate, missing her favourite Highland games, the Braemar Gathering, but reportedly enjoyed watching it from her armchair as the event was livestreamed for the first time.

This week, in a significant break with protocol, she stayed at the castle to appoint the new prime minister away from Buckingham Palace for the first time in her reign. She continued to use a walking stick, as could be seen in the images of her greeting Liz Truss on Tuesday, her physical frailty apparent but her smile still welcoming.

Ever since Victoria and Albert transformed Balmoral into their favourite royal retreat, the estate has had totemic significance for the Windsors.

It was the stage for Victoria’s scandalising friendship with her personal attendant John Brown; it has given a Highland home to both the Queen Mother and now her grandson, Prince Charles, at Birkhall; Charles has mythologised a famous mountain on the estate with his children’s story The Old Man of Lochnagar; and the Queen’s worship at Crathie Kirk is an established part of the royal calendar during her annual summer holidays in Scotland.

The Queen was one of Scotland’s largest private landowners, owning about 24,900 hectares (61,500 acres) at Balmoral and a further long lease on 4,730 hectares of Abergeldie estate, bordering Balmoral. It contains four grouse moors and “deer forests”, used by the royals for deer stalking, while Balmoral’s salmon fishing beats on the River Dee, which borders its western boundary, are among the most sought-after on the river.

There are numerous businesses on the estate: holiday cottages, “luxury” Land Rover tours, a nine-hole private golf course, salmon fishing on the Dee, an estate restaurant, coffee shop and gift shop.

The Queen was known by locals and surprised visitors to drive herself around the estate, which reaches deep and high into the Cairngorm mountains, taking estate roads into the hills; in her more able years, she enjoyed walking too.

Reflecting on her deep affinity with Balmoral, she reportedly once explained: “You just hibernate. It is rather nice to hibernate when one leads such a movable life. To be able to sleep in the same bed for six weeks, it is a nice change.”

In an interview in 2016, the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie described the appeal: “Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs, and people coming in and out all the time. It’s a lovely base. I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”