[QUOTE=Jock Scot;1353194]

As far as I am aware the Balmoral Estate has been the personal property of the Monarch since the 1850's.
Balmoral was purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852, having been first leased in 1848.

The Balmoral Tartan was designed by Prince Albert sometime before 1857 and the Balmoral Estate tweed, also designed by Prince Albert(I think) was about in the 1850's too, and is still worn with pride by Balmoral Estate staff to this day.
I very much that Prince Albert designed either. He may have come up with the idea but the technicalities, especially of the Balmoral Tartan, would have required a weaver to do the actual design work. When first woven the Tartan was worn by the Ghillies, the Royal Family continued to wear the Royal Stewart until the 1870/1880s when the Royals started wearing the Balmoral tartan too.