summer getaway to Balmoral Castle has officially begun.
The King, 77, received an official welcome to the royal estate in the Scottish Highlands on Tuesday, Aug. 18, just under two weeks after it closed to the public for the season. He was welcomed by locals as well as the Royal Regiment of Scotland’s Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, and their notoriously naughty mascot: a Shetland pony named Corporal Cruachan IV.
The King made a point to greet Corporal Cruachan and his handler during his inspection of the battalion, and the pony appeared to remain well-behaved. However, that hasn’t always been the case when the animal has interacted with the royal family.
Balmoral has been a royal summer respite since the reign of Queen Victoria, whose husband, Prince Albert, purchased the castle and the surrounding 7,000 acres in 1845. Generations of royals have headed to the Scottish estate in the late summer to fish, hike and spend time together out of the public eye.
Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith previously told PEOPLE, “Balmoral has always been a place of rejuvenation and reflection.”
The property, which sits on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, was especially beloved by late Queen Elizabeth, who was known to leave for Scotland in late July and not return to London until October, with other members of the family joining her for periods of her stay.
Her granddaughter Princess Eugenie said of Balmoral in the 2016 documentary Our Queen at Ninety, “I think Granny is the most happy there. I think she really, really loves the Highlands.”