Regular Event:
8th Mar 2025
On Saturday 8th March we will be celebrating International Women’s Day, and we are proud to be surrounded by remarkable women here at the Fife Arms. From our own team led by General Manager Rachael Henley to the female characters who have inspired the hotel, and the talented artists and designers whose work bring our spaces to life. Many of our 46 guest bedrooms, each individually designed, pay tribute to remarkable women. Keep reading to discover more about their stories.
Nan Shepherd: Born in Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, Shepherd was a Scottish Modernist writer, poet and the inspiration for Braemar Literary Festival as well as one of our bedrooms. ‘The Living Mountain’ was her celebrated book on the Cairngorms written during the Second World War, however it was not published until more than thirty years later. Click here to find out more about the 2025 Braemar Literary Festival.
Frances Farquharson: Former Fashion Editor of Harper’s Bazaar, Frances Farquharson made Braemar her home in 1949 after marrying the 16th Laird of Invercauld. The inspiration for one of our bedrooms and our annual Festival of Fashion she was lovingly named ‘Frances the Fabulous’. Her passion for clothes and colour left its mark on the area, including Braemar Castle where she decorated the bathroom in shocking pink in honour of her fashion designer friend Elsa Schiaparelli. Click here to find out more about our 2025 Festival of Fashion.
Princess Louise: The fourth eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, she was born in 1848 during a time of great revolution. Queen Victoria always said she ‘ought to be something peculiar in consequence. Many tales surrounded her including affairs, an illegitimate child and a lover dying during the throes of passion, all of which inspired her guest room ‘The Rebel’.
Marion Angus: A Scottish poet who wrote in the Scottish vernacular, Marion is seen as a forebearer of a Scottish renaissance in inter-war poetry. She published several collections of poetry and is featured in numerous anthologies.
Elsie Inglis: An innovative Scottish doctor, suffragist and founder of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals during the First World War. In 1916 she became the first female to be awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia in London.
Princess Frances Dolgorouki: Married to Prince Alexis Dolgorouki with Scottish roots, she frequently holidayed in the North East of Scotland and inspired our Socialite guest room. She took on the lease for Braemar Castle in 1897 for almost 25 years during which she held many lavish society dinners.
Alexandra Feodorovna: Tsarina of Russia and Princess of Hesse and by Rhine, was Queen Victoria’s favourite granddaughter. She would spend summers with Queen Victoria at Balmoral and went on to marry Tsar Nicholas II, heir to the throne of Russia.
Queen Victoria: Reigning from 1837 until her death in 1901, Queen Victoria purchased Balmoral Estate in 1852 and built the current castle. She pioneered fresh-air holidays in Deeside, making Braemar a popular tourist destination and is inspiration for one of our Royal Suites.
Princess Royal Louise: The eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark, Louise and her husband 1st Duke of Fife moved to Scotland and built Mar Lodge and the Fife Arms during the 19th Century.
