Charles has access to more than 30 privately owned residences and refuses to move into one. Photo / Getty Images
Charles has access to more than 30 privately owned residences and refuses to move into one. Photo / Getty Images
While Queen Elizabeth resided mainly in Buckingham Palace, King Charles won’t be doing the same. At least not yet.
The 74-year-old monarch, who was crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6, has access to more than 30 privately owned residences but reportedly favours smaller options than the iconic London residence.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and the author of multiple royal biographies, told The Times: “Maybe in the end he will have to move into Buckingham Palace, but I don’t think he wants to.
“Buckingham Palace is so huge and impersonal and red, with red carpets and curtains. It’s not his style.
“He may decide that it should be available to the public all year round.”
Hugo Vickers, a royal historian and author of a biography on the Queen Mother, added Charles would run his office out of the Palace and use it for state occasions but had no desire to live there.
He added to the Times: “I think you’ll find that he’ll stay at Clarence House, which even [Queen Elizabeth] wanted to do, but Winston Churchill made her go to Buckingham Palace.”
King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Photo / AP
A royal source also told the newspaper Charles preferred Birkhall on the Balmoral estate which has about eight bedrooms, to Balmoral Castle – where the Queen died in September aged 96 – which has 52.
They added: “He absolutely loves Birkhall. I would be amazed if he abandoned that. I think it’s far more likely that he will stay at Balmoral when there are prime ministerial visits but treat it like an office.”
Charles is expected to continue his tradition of spending summers at the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland.
It is usually open to the public but is closed to visitors between July 23 and August 9 this year.
Charles recently travelled to Sandringham where he is overseeing the construction of a new formal garden.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla with their Pages of Honour and Ladies in Attendance in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, London. Photo / AP
He can also choose between Windsor Castle, Highgrove and Sandringham in England and is said to love Highgrove.
It comes after claims that the Duke of York is butting heads with the King after he continues to refuse to leave Royal Lodge.
The disgraced prince is said to be unwilling to vacate the 39ha Windsor property, his home of more than 20 years, at the King’s request.
A friend of the Duke told the Mail on Sunday that he is in low spirits and “refusing to budge” from the property, which is understood to have been earmarked for the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.
One friend told the newspaper: “He is so fragile. He’s refusing to see anybody. This has been his family home for the past 20 years. Is it really sensible to kick him out?”
They added: “He’s concerned that now the Coronation is over, the knives are out. He’s worried that the royals might even turn off the utilities to get him out of there. But we’re dealing with human beings, not real estate.”
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