Inside Crathie Kirk, the Queen's favorite place to worship at Balmoral

Prince Charles, Prince Edward, and Lady Louise Windsor have all been spotted at the Queen's favorite place to worship in Scotland, Crathie Kirk, over the past few weeks. 

• Crathie Kirk is understood to be the Queen's favorite place to practice her devout Christian faith during her annual summer break at Balmoral Cottage. 
• The 19th-century church has been used as a place of worship by the Royal Family since Queen Victoria's reign. 
• In other royal news, Prince Charles arrives at Royal Family's Scottish church without Queen amid ongoing health concerns.
  

If you've been keeping up to date with the Royal Family's outings in Scotland this summer, it's likely you've stumbled across one of their favorite spots to congregate up North ‒ Crathie Kirk. 

The modest 19th church, nestled just a 15-minute walk from Balmoral Castle, was first embraced as a place of worship in Queen Victoria's era and has been used by every reigning monarch ever since. 

Today, it's largely considered to be the Highlands' equivalent of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, with the royals almost guaranteed to attend at least one service during Her Majesty's annual two-month-long vacation in Aberdeenshire. The Queen has sadly been absent from its weekly ceremonies since she arrived at Balmoral on July 21 due to her ongoing mobility issues, but fortunately, she's had some key senior royals appear on her behalf. 

Prince Charles, Prince Edward, and Lady Louise Windsor have all already been spotted driving into its grounds this summer, dressed in the appropriate formal attire (suits for the Queen's children and a floral dress for her 18-year-old granddaughter.) Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as Duchess Camilla, have also been photographed in recent years pulling up to Crathie Kirk. It's understood that the Queen last appeared at the Scottish church in 2020, just a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Despite the fancy dress code, Sunday worship at Crathie Kirk is reportedly a lowkey affair. According to British theology professor Bryan D. Spinks, the services are "reverent, welcoming and suffers from no artificial formality", with the Queen sitting in the royal pew as a regular member of the congregation. Her Majesty is even known to invite visiting preachers at Crathie Kirk to be her guests at Balmoral for the weekend ‒ a tradition that has left the 96-year-old with a "remarkably good first-hand knowledge of the Church of Scotland." 

Aside from its five stained glass windows, the building itself has been described as relatively simple, in keeping with the architecture of most Scottish Presbyterian churches built in the 19th century. It also features the gravestones of the servants of many royals, as well as idyllic views of the surrounding landscape.