King Charles has his pick of palaces to make his official residence. Having now ascended the throne, it's been reported the new sovereign doesn't enjoy staying at Buckingham Palace.
There is speculation King Charles' new duties may require him to move, but much like his mother the Queen, he reportedly would rather not reside at the traditional home of monarch. The new king has been living at Highgrove and Clarence House for decades.
As prince, Charles previously said he would prefer to keep Clarence House as his home in London. However, several royal commentators have predicted he will likely move officially to Buckingham Palace in private apartments with Queen Consort Camilla.
The Mirror reports previous sources have claimed he may opt to not live there permanently, but simply use it for royal business such as official appointments, receptions and state banquets. In 2017, Charles' office confirmed that Buckingham Palace would remain the monarchy's official residence and that there were no plans to change this any time soon.
Like the Queen, his time will be divided between there and Windsor Castle - where William and Kate, the new Prince and Princess of Wales, are set to move with their young family - as well as Sandringham and Balmoral during their holidays.
The new King has some tough choices to make, one royal source told The Times. They said: "He is going to have to weigh up the cost against the importance of keeping these palaces and castles and residences truly royal by using them."
In his book The Diamond Queen, broadcaster Andrew Marr wrote that as King, Charles was considering moving officially to Windsor and opening Buckingham Palace to the public as a glorified heritage centre. It's understood the Queen was not happy about this proposal and wanted to keep it as a family home.
Marr wrote: "One of the more dramatic ideas that has been discussed is for the Royal Family in his reign to leave Buckingham Palace entirely, leaving it as a kind of grand official government hotel and centre for events. The King would base himself not in London but at Windsor Castle."
We now know however that Windsor Castle will become the new home of Prince William, Kate and their three children George, Charlotte and Louis. The family is moving in despite having only moved to nearby Adelaide Cottage this month to give the children more privacy.
Upon the Queen's death, William will also technically inherit Charles' beloved Highgrove estate, as it was bought in 1980 for the Duchy of Cornwall title.Charles was then appointed a lifelong tenant, so even if he continues to live there as King, he will technically be a tenant of his own son, who takes on the Duchy title.
If he does hang on to it, that means he is unlikely to use Sandringham as much as the Queen did. The Norfolk estate was traditionally where the Royal Family spend Christmas. The King also owns a Welsh cottage, Llwynywermod.
With all these magnificent buildings and predictions that Charles III will be a more frugal monarch, it's foreseeable he may look to slim down his number of estates.
"When you add it all up that is a lot of buildings," the source told The Times. "He is going to have to find a balance . . . He is going to be deliberately cost-conscious, the whole slimmed-down monarchy thing."
The source added: "The answer might be to open more of them more often to the public and use that income to cover costs."
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