King Charles shuns palace and bucks tradition
There are doubts over whether the King will ever reside at Buckingham Palace, which is currently undergoing a ten-year renovation.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have no current plans to live at Buckingham Palace and will stay at Clarence House for the foreseeable future.
While Buckingham Palace will be the monarch’s “operational headquarters”, there are doubts over whether the King will ever reside at the building, which is midway through a ten-year, £369 million reservicing project funded by the British taxpayer.
The renovations are due to be completed in 2027 but Charles’s aides had previously insisted that he would live at Buckingham Palace once he became King.
Deviating from the approach under the late Queen’s reign, the Royal Standard will fly simultaneoulsy over Buckingham Palace and Clarence House when the King is in London. Clarence House is on The Mall, a short walk from Buckingham Palace.
The King and Queen’s private office and communications teams will be run from the 775-room palace, and the monarch, 73, will conduct affairs of state there. But according to some who know the King well, in a break with tradition it is thought unlikely ever to become the monarch’s home.
Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of British sovereigns since 1837. It was the Queen’s primary residence throughout her reign until March 2020, when coronavirus lockdowns saw her move to Windsor Castle, and she subsequently moved out of central London permanently.
In 2017 The Sunday Times reported that Charles planned to give up Buckingham Palace when he became King, intending instead to use it as a businesslike “monarchy HQ”. Clarence House denied the plan at the time and said in a statement: “Buckingham Palace will remain the official residence of the monarch.”
Royal sources who know the King have said he is “very comfortable” at Clarence House, which was previously occupied by the Queen Mother. “I know he is no fan of ‘the big house’, as he calls the palace,” a source said. “He doesn’t see it as a viable future home or a house that’s fit for purpose in the modern world.
“He feels that its upkeep, both from a cost and environmental perspective, is not sustainable.”
Another royal source said: “It is certainly true that Camilla doesn’t want to live at Buckingham Palace.”
Prince William is also understood to agree that the palace is not suitable for modern family life. In time, William and his wife Kate, who recently moved from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, are expected to make Windsor Castle their family home.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It is expected that the necessary works will be completed for Their Majesties to take up residence in 2027. In the interim period, the Palace will be fully utilised for official business wherever practicable.”
Last year we revealed that Charles planned to open up the royal palaces when he became King, giving the public greater access to the monarch’s official and private homes. Under plans that are still under discussion, the King intends to transform the royal residences from “private spaces to public places”.
Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Sandringham and Clarence House will all open more widely for longer periods of the year.
A source with knowledge of the plans said Charles “wants to bring people in to connect with the institution. He recognises it needs to keep evolving, and in the modern era people want to be able to access their palaces. He embraces that and sees them as public places more than private spaces.”
Charles is considering opening Buckingham Palace and its gardens to the public throughout the year, a move that would significantly increase income through ticket sales and potentially reduce the amount of taxpayer funds required for maintenance of the royal palaces and residences. It is understood the King is taking a close personal interest in the reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
Last year, property maintenance for all royal residences cost £17.1 million, compared with £18.6 million the previous year. Traditionally, the State Rooms and gardens of Buckingham Palace have only been open to the public from July to October, when the late Queen was at Balmoral on her annual summer break.
Another plan that is believed to be have been considered would see the palace become a permanent exhibition dedicated to the late Queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign.
The King is expected to divide his time between Clarence House and his other homes - Highgrove in Gloucestershire; Sandringham in Norfolk; and Birkhall on the Balmoral estate. He will not use Windsor Castle as much as the late Queen did, and is understood to be ambivalent about moving into Balmoral Castle.
Queen Camilla, 75, will also retain Ray Mill, her private home in Wiltshire, which she recently described as “my refuge, the one place where I can be completely relaxed on my own terms”.
Buckingham Palace will continue to be the setting for major diplomatic occasions. Next month the King and Queen will host a state visit there by the president and first lady of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa and Tshepo Motsepe.
The Sunday Times
More Coverage
Britain may send troops to Ukraine to train recruits
British military chiefs are considering sending troops to Ukraine to train soldiers in ‘secluded’ locations to help Kyiv’s recruitment efforts.
Holocaust survivor lived to tell world ‘never again’
Hungarian-born Auschwitz survivor Lily Ebert became a prominent Holocaust educator and wrote a best-selling memoir aged 96.