In the days following his mother's death, King Charles carried out engagement after engagement as part of Operation London Bridge. But on Thursday, the day after he walked behind the Queen's coffin to escort her to Lie-in-State, the grieving son took a day to himself away from the cameras.
He spent time alone, carrying out state business at his beloved Highgrove House retreat. But the stunning property is just one of His Majesty's many houses.
Since becoming King, Charles has inherited a wealth of palaces, castles, and stately homes, meaning he has plenty of options when it comes to deciding where to live. There are nine official residences, however there are other homes the royals like to stay in, and many of them can be visited by the general public.
An obvious choice for the King to live is at British monarchy HQ Buckingham Palace, but there are other properties to his portfolio that are lesser well known. While some others may be taken over by his son Prince William, who is now the Duke of Cornwall.
Here we take a look at all the royal residences that King Charles III is now the proud owner of...
Highgrove House
The 18th-century countryside estate near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, serves as the private home of Charles and his wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort, and is something of a sanctuary for the King.
Charles, a passionate gardener, has spent more than 40 years devoting his energy into transforming the gardens around the house, which are now visited by thousands of people every year.
Archive photographs from Clarence House show Charles, aged in his 30s, with secateurs in one hand and a cutting of a shrub in the other, dressed casually in an opened-necked checked shirt and belted chinos, as he walks through the meadow in front of Highgrove.
The organic gardens opened annually to the public in 1994 and in 2019 Clarence House said tours, along with events, retail and catering at Highgrove have raised more than £7 million for charity over the past quarter of a century.
The estate was acquired by Charles in 1980, when it had only a kitchen garden, an overgrown copse, some pastureland and a few hollow oaks.
Charles has said of the gardens: "One of my greatest joys is to see the pleasure that the garden can bring to many of the visitors and that everybody seems to find some part of it that is special to them."
Each year, the estate – which also has an Orchard Tea Room – typically welcomes around 40,000 visitors.
While Charles loves to spend time there, the property is actually owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, which has been inherited by his son Prince William.
So really, the new Duke of Cornwall would be his landlord if the King was to reside there.
Buckingham Palace
The extensive Buckingham Palace, owned by the Crown, is one of London's biggest tourist attractions. It boasts 775 rooms and has been the HQ of the British monarchy since 1837.
As King, Charles now has free reign of the palace, however his quarters there will be majorly downsized, according to royal insiders.
One previously told the Mail that "despite what everybody thinks about him not wanting to live there, he will certainly have accommodation there - but it will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the Prime Minister at Downing Street."
Windsor Castle
The Queen enjoyed spending her weekends at the Castle before making it her main residence in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
At the start of the month, before Her Majesty's death, Charles' son Prince William and Kate Middleton chose to move to Windsor to escape the "goldfish bowl" life of living in Kensington Palace.
The Cambridges' homely Adelaide Cottage is just a 10-minute walk from Windsor Castle and is close by to the children's new private Prep School Lambrook.
Royal sources said the future king and queen had thought "long and hard" over the move with one palace insider saying their "overriding focus being to provide as ‘normal’ a life as possible for their children before beginning their own royal lives."
But for Charles, it's likely he will also just use the Castle as a weekend stopover.
Palace of Holyroodhouse
Also owned by the Crown, this Palace, located at the foot of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, was the formal Scottish residence of the Queen, however Balmoral is more well known.
Holyroodhouse is where royals will stay for formal engagements and events in Scotland, and the same will likely apply for during Charles' reign.
It boasts 289 rooms - 17 of which are open to the public.
Hillsborough Castle
Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland.
It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the official residence in Northern Ireland of King Charles III and other members of the British royal family when they visit the region.
Just this week, he was filmed there becoming frustrated over a leaking pen when signing papers.
Since April 2014, the 18th-century house set in 100 acres of gardens has been managed by Historic Royal Palaces and is open to the paying members of the public.
Sandringham House
This country house in Norfolk is privately owned by the monarch and has been passed on to heirs by King Edward VII, who originally bought the property.
Queen Elizabeth II prefered to spend winter and Christmasses at the estate, and the same tradition could continue for the royal family this year.
They are usually pictured on their annual Christmas Day walk at Sandringham.
In 2017, Charles took over the running of the property and made big changes in a bid to make it fully organic.
Changes on the huge estate include creating wildlife corridors, installing bird boxes, and using organic fertiliser.
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle was always a place of happiness for the royal family and was seen as a place where they could spend quality time together.
As usual, the Queen chose to spend the summer in the private Scottish residence, located in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, and spent her final days there before she died peacefully at the castle on September 8.
The treasured retreat was handed down through generations of the royal family after being first occupied by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, who described Balmoral as her "heaven on earth".
However seeing as Her Majesty died there, it may become a difficult place for the King to now visit.
He and the Queen Consort already have a home on estate called Birkhall, and according to the Mail, it could be reopened to the public as a tribute to the Queen.
Clarence House
Clarence House, which was formerly the home of the Queen Mother, was Charles and Camilla's official London residence prior to him becoming King.
However there will be a shake-up with his staff as Charles's office will move from Clarence House to nearby monarchy HQ, Buckingham Palace.
Dozens of Clarence House staff were given notice of the threat of redundancy while they worked round the clock in the wake of the King's accession, The Guardian has revealed.
Private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team and other loyal household employees were among those who received the letter.
The King's top aide, his principal private secretary Sir Clive Alderton said, in a letter seen by The Guardian, that the change in role for Charles and Camilla, now Queen Consort, meant that Clarence House will be "closed down".
He said the former Prince of Wales' personal interests and former activities will no longer be carried out.
A Clarence House spokesman said: "Following last week's Accession, the operations of the Household of the former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have ceased and, as required by law, a consultation process has begun.
"Our staff have given long and loyal service and, while some redundancies will be unavoidable, we are working urgently to identify alternative roles for the greatest possible number of staff."
Llwynywermod
Llwynywermod, in Llandovery, Myddfai, was the Welsh home of then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
The cosy three-bedroom cottage was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall in 2006.
The couple stayed there during their visits to Wales, however it now might be used by his son, Prince William, who is now the Prince of Wales, and Kate.
You can now buy Friday's historic Daily Mirror commemorating the death of the Queen here: mirror.co.uk/commemorative
