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The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will take their annual trip to Balmoral this summer, after it was feared the holiday would be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The royal couple are believed to have flown to the Scottish estate this weekend, but Buckingham Palace has yet to confirm this.

When the royal pair arrive at Balmoral, however, and during their long summer vacation, they will have to show extra care when walking the grounds.

This is because adders have been pictured around the estate in recent days.

The small snake is extremely common in Europe and can deliver a painful bite.

The adder is the only venomous snake in the UK and is believed to be widespread on the 50,000-acre site at the moment.

A full-grown adder was photographed yesterday as it crossed the road beside Crathie Kirk – a small Church frequently attended by the Queen while she stays at the Scottish Castle.

A Balmoral ranger said: “Adders are fairly common here.

“They’re regularly seen all over the estate.

“If you come across one, give it a wide berth and let it move away”.

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The adder is a protected species under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act and they can grow up to 2.5ft long.

Their bites are very painful but not lethal, except to people with underlying medical ­conditions.

The last recorded death in the UK was in 1975.

Some 50 to 80 people are bitten each year.

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When the Queen and Prince Philip head to Balmoral this month, it will be the first time they have stepped outside Windsor Castle since they first began shielding at the estate in early March.

The Queen has spent a 12-week break at Balmoral for each of the past 68 years of her reign, so it will come as a relief to the monarch that she will be allowed to go this year after all.

It had been feared the trip would be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on travel between England and Scotland.

But a royal source told The Sun last month that the trip is going ahead.

They said: “Preparations are well underway.

“Everything will be checked and double-checked to ensure there is no risk.”

The Queen is expected to stay at Balmoral until September at the earliest.

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