Actually maggie01, I understand that the reason why the Queen loves Balmoral so much is because it's the nearest she can get to being a 'normal' person - well, normal with a massive estate to roam around on anyway.
I remember seeing in one of the documentaries about her - she visited the local shop near the estate and bought some provisions and paid for them - which is unusual for her - as a rule The Royal Family never carry money, anything that needs to be paid for is dealt with by a member of staff, so it must be a novelty for the Queen to be able to shop like the rest of us.
Imagine, she's never ever ridden on public transport, never been on a tube, or even walked down a city street alone, not a life I'd swap for, even with the money.