Along with the crown, Charles III has inherited an unrivalled collection of homes to add to several he accumulated as heir-in-waiting. The king and the queen consort now have more than a dozen residences to choose from, boasting a total of at least 2,000 rooms. The cost of the staff required to keep these properties available year-round for often brief visits – and precisely who pays for them – is unclear. Here we list the main properties used by the king and close family members.
The portfolio of royal properties are held in different legal forms. Some are owned privately, but more often the royal family have the right to use them in ways specific to the institution.
They may be:
Owned by the king in right of the crown: This means the king owns the property as sovereign. The property is “inalienable” – that is, it cannot be sold or given away but is passed down with the crown.
Owned by the crown estate: The crown estate is a huge portfolio of property and land accumulated by monarchs over the centuries, which was surrendered to the state in 1760. It is, in effect, state-controlled - all revenues from its holdings go to the Treasury. The crown estate leases several properties to members of the royal family, who may have bought a leasehold or pay rent.
Owned by the Duchy of Cornwall: Some of the king’s residences are owned by the duchy, which is a vast hereditary estate that passes down with the heir to the throne. In recent years, Charles has paid rent as a tenant to the duchy, from which he also received an income. When Charles became king, Prince William inherited the duchy, and he is now the landlord of these properties.
Owned privately: Some royal estates, such as Sandringham, are owned privately, and some, like Balmoral, through a trust. In the past, they may have been bought using money saved from the taxpayer-funded civil list - the allowance paid to the royal family.
Owned by the UK government: One official royal residence, in Northern Ireland, is owned directly by the government, a reflection of the troubled history of the region.
Owned by a royal charitable foundation: A couple of the residences used by the king are legally owned through charities he has set up.
