Yahoo Finance Is one ready for a holiday? 15 destinations fit for a royal escape
Members of the Royal family – including King Charles – are no strangers to the thrills of travelling the globe. From cruising the Caribbean to skiing in the Alps, the roster of destinations with the royal seal of approval is an enviable list.
Ahead of the Coronation, here we remember not the respectful expressions and sober observance of official state tours, but the less-guarded moments of royal holidays on-piste and beach, and the grins and glamour of honeymoons on exotic horizons – with insider tips on how to recreate the royal experience for yourself.
Western Australia
The Prince of Wales (1979)
Although much more at home in front of an easel or on a mountain trail, the Prince has been spotted on the shoreline. The most famous example, perhaps, occurred in March 1979. Technically, the then-30-year-old Prince was in Perth as part of an official state visit to Australia, but he was very much in holiday mode when he waded into the surf after a morning run at Cottesloe Beach. The subsequent photographs of him being surprised, then embraced in the waves, by a local woman named Jane Priest, while not planned, were not entirely unwelcome. They helped to boost his image as one of the planet’s most eligible bachelors.
Do it yourself
Forever gazing into the sunset, Cottesloe is one of Australia’s loveliest beaches. You can enjoy it via the 16-day “Scenic South West” tour of Western Australia sold by Trailfinders – from £1,288 a head, flights extra.
The Mediterranean
The Prince and Princess of Wales (1981)
The marriage of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 1981 was a union that rebooted the monarchy for a new decade and a younger generation – a seemingly fairy-tale event at St Paul’s Cathedral that was watched by an estimated global television audience of 750 million. The honeymoon was no less splendid an affair – the centrepoint of which was a cruise around the Mediterranean. After a three-day stay in Hampshire, the heir to the throne and his new wife flew to Gibraltar, boarding the Royal Yacht Britannia for an 11-day voyage that would touch on the shores of Tunisia, Egypt, Sardinia, and Greece.
Do it yourself
The Royal Yacht may now be a museum in Edinburgh, but you can still book a stylish trip around Europe’s greatest body of water. Perhaps with Azamara, which has an 11-night “Islands of the Mediterranean” foray from Athens to Barcelona, from £1,691 a head. Flights extra.
Lech
The Prince and Princess of Wales (1983)
Europe’s ski slopes were a regular place of respite for the Princess of Wales as she tried to come to terms with the pressures of royal life. January 1983 found the Prince and Princess on the pistes in the chic Austrian resort of Lech. But while, seven months after the birth of Prince William, the princess was already a target for the photographers who followed her from lift to lift, the holiday was a happy one – partially because the couple found an extra layer of sanctuary by staying over the border, in the (quieter) Liechtenstein capital Vaduz.
Do it yourself
Though traditionally viewed as a winter-sports oasis for the jet-set, Lech-Zuers offers challenging terrain that has been used for skiing world cup races. A one-week half-board stay at the five-star Hotel Arlberg, flying from Manchester on January 13 2024, costs from £3,149 per person via Inghams.
Mallorca
The Prince and Princess of Wales (1986)
The strains were already beginning to show in the Waleses’ marriage by August 1986 – when they headed to Mallorca as the guests of Juan Carlos I. With Princes William and Harry in tow, they stayed at the Marivent Palace, the island residence of the Spanish royal family, at Cala Major, just south-west of Palma – but spent limited time together. Prince Charles passed his days painting the landscape at Valldemossa, near the north coast – while the Princess made the most of the waterside, sunbathing at Ses Illetes beach, and taking her sons to the Marineland aquarium. But for all this state of semi-separation, the family would return to the biggest of the Balearics in the two subsequent summers – and the Princess would be back again, for a solo escape to La Residencia, in Deià, in 1996.
Do it yourself
A seven-night stay at La Residencia, flying from Gatwick on June 28, starts at £2,143 a head via British Airways Holidays.
Necker
The Princess of Wales (1989)
By January 1989, the Princess had widened her beachgoing travels to the Caribbean, taking her boys to Necker – Sir Richard Branson’s private fragment of the British Virgin Islands – to escape both the cold season in Europe, and the winter of her own marriage. Photos would show her leading a four-year-old Prince Harry and a six-year-old Prince William to the sea to paddle. She would return the following year with her mother, Frances Shand Kydd.
Do it yourself
Long a haven for rock stars and supermodels, Necker is open to the public on selected “Celebration Weeks” – between February and November. Seven-night stays cost from $25,900 per room (flights extra) – through Virgin Limited Edition.
Antigua
Princess Margaret (1960)
Diana, Princess of Wales, was not the first British princess to chart a fashionable course to the Caribbean. That perfumed path had already been wandered by Elizabeth II’s younger sister, Princess Margaret – not least on her honeymoon. In the wake of her wedding to photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in May 1960, the future Countess and Earl of Snowdon skipped aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia for a voyage that would carry them to islands including Trinidad, Dominica, Antigua, and Mustique. It would not be Princess Margaret’s final encounter with the latter.
Do it yourself
For those who fancy a Caribbean cruise, the “Leeward Islands Adventure” voyage scheduled for November 2024 by SeaDream might be the answer. This nine-night small-ship tour, in and out of St Martin. From $4,599 a head (flights extra).
Mustique
Princess Margaret (1960-2001)
Princess Margaret’s four-decade devotion to the island of Mustique began with her wedding – when she was gifted a 10-acre plot of land on this tiny shard of the Grenadines archipelago. On it, she would build Les Jolies Eaux, the villa in which she would holiday twice a year – usually October or November, and February – for much of the rest of her life. Her villa would become a party palace, tinged by the occasional scandal (it was on the island that her affair with the landscape gardener Roddy Llewellyn was uncovered in 1976), but alive with A-list guests (such as Rolling Stone Mick Jagger), with Margaret at the centre, sipping her favourite Famous Grouse whisky. The house was sold outside the family in 2001, but is available for rent, from $33,000 per week.
Do it yourself
If a five-figure price is a little expensive for a holiday, Red Savannah serves up a range of villas on Mustique – including the three-bedroom Tetto Rosso, which can be rented from £7,513 per week (flights extra).
The Galapagos
Princess Anne (1973)
Margaret’s tendency to go west to the tropics may have influenced her niece’s direction of travel when she, too, approached the altar. The Princess Royal followed her wedding to Captain Mark Phillips in November 1973 with another House of Windsor honeymoon on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Unfortunately, the newly-weds encountered hard seas and high waves as they sailed in the Caribbean – but found calmer waters and animal magic when they sailed around to the Pacific, and explored Ecuador’s wildlife-wondrous archipelago.
Do it yourself
Abercrombie & Kent sells a 12-night “Classic Ecuador & The Galapagos” itinerary that spends six full days exploring this realm of skittering iguanas and giant tortoises. From £13,090 per person, with flights.
Find more of the best hotels in Galapagos in our guide.
Surrey
The Duke and Duchess of York (1923)
Honeymoons were far simpler matters for earlier royals. When the future Queen Mother married the then-Duke of York in April 1923, the couple initially travelled no more than 25 miles – from Westminster Abbey to Polesden Lacey. They enjoyed two weeks at this Edwardian manor house, near Dorking, before going north to the bride’s childhood home, Glamis Castle, close to Dundee. She promptly contracted “unromantic” whooping cough.
Do it yourself
Polesden Lacey was left to the National Trust in 1942. Its grounds are open to visitors. If you want a slice of Surrey country-estate living to go with it, you might check in to Barnett Hill or Great Fosters – a pair of genteel hotels in the surrounding area. Each has extensive grounds, fine-dining options – and spa facilities.
Balmoral
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh (1947)
The future Queen Elizabeth II also had a relatively (though, in the context of a nation struggling with the effects of the Second World War, understandably) restrained honeymoon, with a brief stop at Broadlands – the home of her new husband’s uncle, Earl Mountbatten – in Hampshire, and a longer stay at Birkhall Lodge on the Balmoral estate. It is perhaps no surprise, in retrospect, that the latter should have been chosen for a holiday, even in the chill of November. Balmoral was Elizabeth II's favoured refuge for much of her reign.
Do it yourself
Balmoral has seven cottages that are available to the public outside royal visits. The majority are open all year round.
Klosters
Prince William and Kate Middleton (2008)
There were no surprises either in the sight of Prince William and his then-girlfriend at this Swiss ski resort in March 2008. The second in line to the throne had visited Klosters with his parents at as young an age as five, in 1987, and has returned regularly since – including with his father and brother in 2005. The now-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not let marriage and family life keep them from the slopes. They were pictured in the French Alps with Prince George (and a well-wrapped 10-month-old Princess Charlotte), in 2016.
Do it yourself
Like Lech, Klosters is seen as a high-end skiing option, but prices do not have to be prohibitive. A seven-night half-board stay at the four-star Silvretta Parkhotel starts at £1,315 a head, with flights departing December 16 2023, via Ski Solutions.
The Seychelles
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (2011)
William and Kate swapped snow for sun after their Westminster Abbey wedding in April 2011. They flew to the Seychelles, and North Island, a private idyll of just 11 villas (but four superb beaches). They set a trend, of sorts. Three years later, the Clooneys also honeymooned here.
Do it yourself
North Island comes with prices to match its A-list profile. A week’s stay starts at £18,700 per person, with flights, via Scott Dunn.
Las Vegas
Prince Harry (2012)
William’s younger brother has, on occasion, taken a less refined approach towards holidays. The most notorious example was his wild (long) weekend in America’s most party-centric city, amid the dust and heat of Nevada in August. While an afternoon pool party at the MGM Grand caught the attention of smartphone cameras, it was the later images of the near-naked Prince Harry at his hotel – the Encore resort at Wynn Las Vegas – that raised eyebrows.
Do it yourself
A week at Wynn Las Vegas, flying from Heathrow on February 16 2024, costs from £2,078 per person, via Virgin Holidays.
Find more of the best hotels in Las Vegas in our guide
Ibiza
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (2019)
Harry has been calmer since meeting Meghan Markle in 2016 – and marrying the now-Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Three months after the birth of their son Archie in May 2019, the couple decamped to Ibiza for six days in the Balearic sun. They chose the Vista Alegre complex of villas, just outside Ibiza Town, on the south coast, where privacy comes as part of the package.
Do it yourself
The three-bedroom Villa Mirador, which comes with a pool and views of Formentera, costs from €4,500 with The Luxury Travel Book.
The Greek Islands
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (2005)
The Prince of Wales’s second marriage to his long-term partner took place at Windsor Guildhall in April 2005. With Camilla Parker Bowles anointed as the Duchess of Cornwall, the couple embarked upon a yacht cruise around the Aegean.
Do it yourself
Silversea will sail its ship Silver Moon in and out of Athens next summer on a 11-day voyage, departing on November 18 2023, that will call on Santorini, Mykonos, Crete and Rhodes. From £6,100 per person, with flights.
