WITH its majestic, fairy-tale turrets and towers overlooking the Pentland Firth, it was where The Queen Mother was said to be happiest.

But her beloved old Scottish home, the Castle of Mey, has only been estimated as being worth £1m because it would prove difficult to put a value on her association with the property, accounts have revealed.

Similarly so with the castle’s furnishings.

For accounts just released showed the castle’s trust - headed by Prince Charles - racked-up a surplus of more than £532,000 and over £104,000 on investments.

Together that total was £200,000 up on 2018 where net losses on investments of £203,870 badly hit that year’s ‘trading’ surplus of £640,992.

This time The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust saw income rise by over £540,000 to £2,287,526, but with expenditure also greatly increasing to £1,754,854 - which was up by around £640,000, due to a longer accounting period and increased costs.

Donations and legacies topped £1,260,000 - over half the income - with charitable activities, other trading and investments making up the rest.

Despite a property boom over recent years, the market value of the castle alone is put at just £1m - the same estimate as when it was gifted by the Queen Mum to the trust on its inception in 1996. It was last revalued by the trustees in 2010.

A full valuation was “considered to be onerous compared to any benefits to be derived from it, principally due to the difficulty in establishing a value of enhancement resulting from the ownership by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother,” said the trust.

“The valuation basis used by the trustees was the market value and the current trustee is content with the valuation and is not aware of any changes.”

The castle’s furnishings were also revalued in 2004 at £583,570 - again a full valuation was also considered “onerous” with the problem of calculating the value of the Queen Mother’s cache.

Almost £1.2m of the trust’s donations were funds restricted to a specific use.

Though donors were not named, the multi-million pound, ten bedroom B and B, Granary Lodge, in the grounds was was funded by cash from The Gosling Foundation, American philanthropist Julia Irene Kauffman - the daughter of the late pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman - and investment financier Louis de Ségur de Charbonnières and his wife Priscilla.

In 2015, it was revealed that a wooded area near the castle had been renamed in honour of a wealthy Saudi businessman who reportedly donated £370,000 to its restoration.

The woodland, located to the east of the 16th Century Castle of Mey, was renamed Mahfouz Wood in honour of Dr Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz. He is a honorary patron of the trust.

Prince Charles - known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland - who stays at the castle every August to keep up the memory of his late grandmother - is known to be particularly adept at attracting generous benefactors to his pet projects.

The Caithness castle’s new accounts - lodged with the Scottish Charity Regulator - cover a 15-month period to March 31 when it came under the trusteeship of The Prince’s Foundation - while the previous annual return spans 12 months, making comparisons more difficult.

But the report does warn that the latest accounts do not reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which badly affected the opening of the visitor attraction this year.

The trust, whose president is Prince Charles, also has a wholly owned trading arm - Castle and Gardens of Mey Ltd.

The trustee’s report says funds were boosted by the opening of The Granary Lodge - dubbed heir b and b - which returned “strong occupancy rates”. The trust is now looking at making it a wedding and small events venue as well.

During the period to March 31, the castle welcomed 28,210 visitors benefitting from being on the booming North Coast 500 route, which the prince’s North Highland Initiative helped start. Admissions brought in almost £242,000.

It also hired out the castle for an exclusive use “Mey Occasions” weekend to the wealthy.
Meanwhile the castle’s gardens have been been given a bit of a Royal revamp by Charles and the country’s best known gardener.

Alan Titchmarsh has donated dozens of roses for a new section while the prince and has given two colourfully striking arbours and overseen a project to turn Mey’s gardens into a year-round attraction.

The most northerly walled garden on the British mainland has been largely seasonal.

Mr Titchmarsh, who knew the Queen Mother well - and admits Mey is his favourite garden - has donated the large collection of roses in the Shell Garden. Mr Titchmarsh is a honorary patron of the castle’s friends’ organisation.

Shirley Farquhar, administrator for The Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust, said: “The Castle of Mey is highly-regarded and well-supported by the Caithness community, visitors to the area and donors to The Prince’s Foundation.

“We are really encouraged by the way in which the new luxury bed and breakfast accommodation The Granary Lodge has captured the imagination of tourists from all over the world as well as the continuing popularity of the castle, its gardens and the wider estate.

“We are very much looking forward to the day when we can safely welcome tourists back to The Castle of Mey and The Granary Lodge.”

The Queen Mother first saw what was then known as Barrogill Castle in 1952, while mourning the death of her husband, King George VI.

Falling for its isolated charm and hearing that it was to be abandoned, she decided to save it.

Having acquired the most northerly-inhabited castle on the British mainland, The Queen Mother renovated and restored it and also created beautiful gardens.

The Queen Mother’s love for the castle was recorded by Godfrey Talbot, the official Royal court correspondent in 1978. He wrote:”Even when she is in London she keeps regularly in touch with the factor of Mey about the progress of the sheep she has; the health of her herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle; and the sale of the flowers and fruit from the fine old walled garden.”