Sir Robert Gordon died in 1847 and his lease on Balmoral reverted to Lord Aberdeen. In February 1848 an arrangement was made—that Prince Albert would acquire the remaining part of the lease on Balmoral, together with its furniture and staff—without having seen the property first. The royal couple arrived for their first visit on 8 September 1848. Victoria found the house "small but pretty", and recorded in her diary that:  “All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.” The surrounding hilly landscape reminded them of Thuringia, Albert's homeland in Germany.

In 1848, John and William Smith were commissioned to design new offices, cottages, and other ancillary buildings. Improvements to the woodlands, gardens, and estate buildings also were being made, with the assistance of the landscape gardener, James Beattie, and possibly by the painter, James Giles. After seeing a corrugated iron cottage at the Great Exhibition of 1851, Prince Albert ordered a pre-fabricated iron building for Balmoral from E. T. Bellhouse & Co., to serve as a temporary ballroom and dining room. It was in use by 1 October 1851, and would serve as a ballroom until 1856. The sale was completed in June 1852, the price being £32.000, and Prince Albert formally took possession that autumn.

Balmoral is a private property and, unlike the monarch's official residences, is not the property of the Crown. It originally was purchased personally by Prince Albert, rather than the queen, meaning that no revenues from the estate go to Parliament or to the public purse, as otherwise in accord with the Civil List Act 1760 would be the case for property owned outright by the monarch. Along with Sandringham House in Norfolk, ownership of Balmoral was inherited by Edward VIII on his accession in 1936. When he abdicated later the same year, however, he retained ownership of them. A financial settlement was devised, under which Balmoral and Sandringham were purchased by Edward's brother and successor to the Crown, George VI.

Balmoral Estate is within the Cairngorms National Park. The 20,000 ha estate contains a wide variety of landscapes, from the Dee river valley to open mountains. There are seven Munros (hills in Scotland over 910 m) within the estate, the highest being Lochnagar at 1155 m. The working estate includes grouse moors, forestry, and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle, and ponies. It also offers access to the public for fishing (paid) and hiking during certain seasons. Approximately 8000 acres of the estate are covered by trees, with almost 3000 acres used for forestry that yields nearly 10.000 tonnes of wood per year. Ballochbuie Forest, one of the largest remaining areas of old Caledonian pine growth in Scotland, consists of approximately 3000 ha. It is managed with only minimal or no intervention. The principal mammal on the estate is the red deer with a population of 2000 to 2500 head.

At first there was considerable controversy about the sport, because the players were of both sexes. Several sports journalists refused to pay even the slightest attention to the new sport. Korfball-players were accused of being immoral. Even the sportswear was criticized, because the women were showing bare knees and ankles; one newspaper wrote that "Korfball is a monster that spreads its claws to all sides". Yet korfball was featured as a demonstration sport in the Summer Olympics of 1920 and 1928. The International Korfball Federation was founded in 1933.

Korfball is played in over 60 countries including: United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Serbia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Germany, Taiwan, Turkey, Hong Kong, Portugal, Pakistan, Sweden, Hungary, the Philippines, Italy, Catalonia, Spain, France and Romania. Korfball has been played in the World Games since 1985. IKF World Championships have been held every four years since 1978. The leading nations are Belgium and the Netherlands. Hong Kong hosted its first international tournament, the Asia Oceania Championship in 2006. New Zealand hosted the Asia Oceania Youth Championships in 2007.

Korfball is played inside in winter and outdoors in spring and fall. The size of the indoor court is 20 x 40 m, outdoor courts are 30 x 60 m. The new outdoor courts size is 40 m x 20 m.The court is divided into halves called zones. In each zone is a 3.5 m tall post with a basket at the top. This is positioned two-thirds of the distance between the center line and the back of the zone.

A korfball match typically consists of two periods, with the length varying depending on the competition, but typically between 25 and 30 minutes, with a break between periods. Four players of each team are in one zone, and the others are in the other zone. Within each zone, a player may only defend a member of the opposite team of the same gender. At the beginning of the match one team chooses one-half of the court. That half will be their defending zone, with 'their' basket in it. Players score by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket. After two goals, the teams change zones: defenders become attackers and attackers become defenders. In between those zone-changes, attackers cannot set foot on their defending zone or vice versa. At half-time teams swap halves.

The rules prevent physical strength dominating the game. Blocking, tackling and holding are not allowed, as well as kicking the ball. Once a player has the ball, one cannot dribble, run or walk with it, however, one can move one foot as long the foot the player landed on when they caught the ball stays in the same spot. Therefore, tactical and efficient teamwork is required, because players need each other to keep the ball moving. A player may not attempt to score when defended, which occurs when the defender is in between the opponent and the basket, is facing his/her opponent, is within arm's length and attempting to block the ball. This rule encourages fast movement while also limiting the impact of players' height compared to their opponents.