British royal family's Scottish Balmoral residence will be made available to hire for rock concerts in a bid to raise funds for cash-strapped Queen Elizabeth II who is down to her last million.
Balmoral, a royal residence since 1852, hosted its only open-air concert in 2006 to mark the Queen's 80th birthday with a star performance from Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins.
But the site - once described by Queen Victoria, the Queen's great-great grandmother, as "my paradise in the Highlands" - could soon be mobbed by pop fans and festival revellers.
An advertisement and re-vamped website for Royal Deeside has invited enquiries, a month after the Commons Public Accounts Committee said the Queen is down to her last million pounds, the Daily Express reported.
Gary Marsden, visitor enterprise manager at Balmoral, said only outdoor shows would be considered for the spring and summer months prior to the Royal Family's arrival for their annual stay.
However, he did not rule out pop or rock concerts being held on the historic site, meaning the usual scene of sober garden parties could be replaced with stage diving and mosh pits for the first time.
We are open to any suggestions suitable for the location," he was quoted as saying. "We are not planning to stage concerts ourselves, it would be up to others."
On the castle's revamped website, Balmoral says its picturesque grounds around the castle are available for hire.
"Balmoral provides the perfect setting for your event, with wonderful scenery and the castle providing a magnificent backdrop," it says.
"Whether you are planning a charity event, gala dinner, training course, team building exercise, car rally, conference or even a concert we can assist with your plans. Our events field is the ideal location for an outdoor function with full marquee facilities easily catered for and parking readily available nearby."
Balmoral and its 49,000 acres costs around 3 million pounds a year to run. It opens up as a tourist attraction between April and the end of July, attracting over 70,000 visitors.
But the tourist income meets only about half the costs of the estate, which is privately owned by the Queen and funded out of her own pocket.
Last month, MPs said that the Queen was to be down to her last 1 million pounds while her palaces were "crumbling".
