King Charles III is reportedly considering turning Balmoral Castle into a museum to honour his mother and the late monarch Queen Elizabeth II.
The private Scottish castle which Britain’s longest-serving monarch considered to be her holiday home and where she died on 8 September, will be “opened up to the general public” as part of his effort to modernise the monarchy and cut down on excesses, reported the Daily Mail.
The property, spread over 50,000 acres of land, is now estimated to be worth around £120m.
The exhibition on the property is likely to focus on her seven-decade-long reign while showcasing some of the pieces of jewellery and the outfits she wore during key moments in history.
The King had devoted his time as the Prince of Wales in restoring the Castle of Mey in Caithness, which was the home of his late grandmother, and is now planning “to do something similar with Balmoral”, reported the outlet quoting an anonymous source.
“But all these things are likely to take some time,” the source said.
The museum is expected to open next summer.
The 170-year-old estate was first bought by Prince Albert. He purchased the land for Queen Victoria in 1852, where the couple spent leisure time and spent the days hunting deer and sketching the sprawling landscape, reported Vogue.
While her son Edward VII was not as enamoured, subsequent successors like George V, George VI and later Elizabeth II developed a fondness for the castle.
As a young princess, the late monarch spent time with her sister Margaret by riding ponies and playing parlour games.
It was on the grounds of Balmoral, that Prince Philip proposed to the future queen in 1946. The royal couple spent a part of their honeymoon on the estate. Following her ascension to throne in 1952, the late monarch would spend her time with the young family in Balmoral during the summer break between July and October.
The Queen performed her last major royal duty of accepting the resignation of Boris Johnson and meeting the new prime minister Liz Truss at the castle.
The report of converting the palace into a museum comes days after Daily Mirror royal expert Russell Myers said on ITV that the King is considering opening the royal palaces to the public.
Mr Myers made the remarks after host Lorraine Kelly suggested the family convert Buckingham Palace into a museum.
“I think they should turn Buckingham Palace into a museum, I think they should,” Kelly said.
“Interestingly enough, King Charles has always been saying this,” he replied. “He’s said he would want some of the royal palaces to be turned into museums because you don’t need them all.
“I think it doesn’t really sit with the music at the moment, so it will be very interesting to see how he shifts into being a modern monarch in the current climate.”
