King Charles closes Balmoral Castle amid warnings

King Charles III has reportedly ordered to close Balmoral Castle as Storm Babet wreaked chaos across Scotland.

The royal family's 50,000 acre estate, where the 74-year-old monarch has spent most of the past few weeks, has been closed to the public for two days because of flood warnings in Aberdeenshire.

“Due to adverse weather warnings, Balmoral Estate will be closed to the public on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th October,“ said a notice on the estate website and social media channels.

It added: “A red and amber weather warning for heavy rainfall and severe wind has been issued for Aberdeenshire which is expected to cause severe flooding and disruption. We will be monitoring the conditions and will provide a further update on our weekend opening hours this Friday.“

Scotland security officials have warned people not to travel across Angus and South Aberdeenshire and issued flood warnings across the area on Thursday.

The red Met Office warning says that from 6pm there is “danger to life from fast-flowing or deep floodwater“ in Aberdeenshire and Angus in eastern Scotland, with extensive road closures expected.

Prince William and Harry's father King Charles, who was at Balmoral earlier this week, returned to London to attend a dinner at the Mansion House in the City on Wednesday evening.