12 homes in 12 months, as King Charles braces for public backlash
With the coronation over and his new reign setting in, King Charles III’s honeymoon is over, as he decides what to do with his royal residences.
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From Windsor Castle to Balmoral and Sandringham, Queen Elizabeth’s year followed a familiar progression of short stays and longer seasons, as she divided her time between her favourite royal residences.
Apart from occasional deviations for tours and special events, it was a rhythm she established early in her reign, and it became well-known to royal watchers: the summers in Scotland; the festive seasons on her country residence in Norfolk.
But nine months into his reign, it appears King Charles III is likely to base himself at a far broader range of palaces and homes, from Clarence House in London, to Birkhall in Scotland and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.
Some commentators believe he will call as many as 12 residences home.
The King has also been moving ahead with big plans for the estate, mulling decisions to open up more public tours, and turning Balmoral into a museum in honour of his late mother.
Acutely aware of the public’s heightened resentment of cash being splashed amid the country’s cost of living crisis, a royal source said “it is an urgent issue that needs to be tackled”, with continued discussions on opening the doors of some residences to the public to generate income.
One of Charles’s first significant decisions about his estate came last month, when he handed over the keys to a beloved Welsh farmhouse he bought in 2007 for £1.2m (A$2.29m) as part of his mission to downsize and reduce costs.
The converted cottage near Llandovery, in Carmarthenshire, had been a royal retreat for 16 years, the former Prince of Wales reportedly loving its air of calm and quietude. But he gave up the lease, conceding he was less likely to use it in the same way after the death of his mother.
With the Coronation over, the King and his aides have focused their attention on what to do with the residences he owns or uses, which include “The King’s Garden” Highgrove, Birkhall, Clarence House (which he shares with Queen Camilla, and where he spends the majority of his time), Sandringham and Balmoral Castle, as well as official homes such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Charles also has several properties in Romania’s Transylvania region, where he was recently on holiday while carrying out a few official engagements and, in Scotland, the Castle of Mey and Dumfries House, owned by his charity.
Here we detail the royal residences and look at their possible futures.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
The 775 rooms (19 staterooms, 52 bedrooms and 78 bathrooms) that constitute Buckingham Palace are receiving a tax-funded £370 million ($A685 million) overhaul to replace wiring, heating and pipes from the 1950s – all of which means the Sovereign’s apartments will be unavailable until 2027.
With a four-year window to move back into the residence he calls “The Big House” – it is reportedly his least favourite home – Charles will nevertheless be under pressure to move back in and recoup the cost to the taxpayer.
Plans are afoot to open up Buckingham Palace further for summer tours.
CLARENCE HOUSE
Clarence House is the preferred living quarters for Charles and Camilla, and sources say the King is anxious he will struggle to justify it once Buckingham Palace reopens the gates.
Clarence House could be passed on to the Princess Royal or the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who already have apartments in St James’s Palace, which is part of the same building.
The building underwent extensive refurbishment and redecoration in 2003 and remains very much a home, making it the last remaining great London house to be maintained in the purpose for which it was built. It makes some income by offering tours to visitors of five rooms and adjoining spaces.
HIGHGROVE
Highgrove in Gloucestershire holds a special place in the King’s heart, with its idyllic grounds and beautiful interiors. Highgrove House, itself, is closed to the public but its extensive Royal Gardens are open for group tours and champagne and tea tasting, raising money for the Prince’s Foundation.
The King uses his private income to rent Highgrove from Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall.
DUMFRIES HOUSE
The King stays at 18th century Dumfries House in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland, two or three times a year, having led a consortium to spend £45 million ($A85m) restoring the dilapidated estate for the community to use as a training space for heritage labour skills.
Dumfries House is also one of two Scottish properties being used as part of the Winter Warmers project – an initiative, run by The Prince’s Foundation, which offers people free hot drinks, biscuits and a social space for activities and developing friendships.
The Prince’s Foundation owns it and is headquartered there.
CASTLE OF MEY
The Foundation also owns Castle of Mey, on the north coast of Scotland, where the King and Queen stay for a brief stint every summer. It is open to the public at other times. The King is fully aware that having access to so many residences could be considered an obscene indulgence, but he believes that having a tangible local connection is important.
PROPERTIES IN TRANSYLVANIA
The monarch bought his first Transylvanian property in 2006 – an 18th-century Saxon house in the village of Viscri – and another in 2010 in the village of Zalanpatak.
The second, a former farmhouse close to the Carpathian Mountains, is where he recovered from the coronation celebrations. The property is rented out to visitors, with double rooms for an all-inclusive stay starting at £140 per night ($A266).
BIRKHALL
This is the King’s personal property as part of the Balmoral estate and he intends to stay there every summer, and use Balmoral Castle for family gatherings and hosting VIPs.
When he is not in residence he is prepared to allow greater numbers of visitors through the doors, to generate income for its upkeep.
“The King is open to the idea of widening public access to Buckingham Palace and to other royal residences, including Balmoral,” said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam.
“He’s a frugal man and is aware times in Britain are hard for many and the royal family must be seen to be pulling their weight, hence the review of his property portfolio.”
LLWYNYWERMOD
Charles gave notice earlier this year that he will vacate Llwynywermod in Carmarthenshire, which the King bought via the Duchy of Cornwall in 2007 and first used in 2008.
Because he no longer owns the Duchy, the King is now obliged to pay rent to his son the Prince of Wales, but the lease will expire at the end of summer. After that it is likely to be made available to the public.
WINDSOR CASTLE
The King is not a fan of draughty Windsor Castle but he understands his duty to use the big castles as homes so that they remain living royal residences, rather than ageing museums.
“He knows that connection to Buckingham Palace and Windsor brings in tourist revenue and having them as part of the royal estate means he has to spend some time there,” a royal aide said.
It was speculated that the Prince and Princess of Wales might move into Windsor Castle, but they are reportedly content with their modest home on the Windsor estate. The Berkshire castle attracted 3.2 million visitors in 2019-20, generating nearly £50m ($95m) in revenue.
Unlike his mother who stayed there during the week, Charles will likely use it as a resting post on his way to Highgrove.
BALMORAL
The King is renovating his Aberdeenshire home, with the Highlands estate recently sharing an advertisement for a joiner and a decorator to spruce up the former Queen’s favourite residence.
“We are currently searching for applicants with a good all-round knowledge of building, maintenance and other trades,” the advertisement read.
It has been rumoured Charles is fashioning Balmoral Castle as a museum in memory of his mother, who died there on 8 September 2022.
SANDRINGHAM
On the death of his mother, the King inherited Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He spent Christmas there in 2022, continuing Elizabeth’s long-running tradition.
Charles had been quietly taking over Sandringham for many months before the Queen’s death, introducing rare breed cattle, restoring greenery and rearing endangered birds.
One of the first changes he oversaw was to turn the 21,000-acre estate organic and oversee a program of “ecological delivery” which includes hedge and tree planting, along with bird boxes and measures to encourage insects.
One full acre of the estate’s west lawn has also been bulldozed in preparation for a new topiary garden.
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