King Charles will not live at Buckingham Palace

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will not live at Buckingham Palace after a 10-year, £369 million refurbishment is completed next year, royal officials said, choosing instead to remain at nearby Clarence House while opening the palace to more public access.

The decision, disclosed in the latest royal accounts and at a briefing on royal finances, marks a departure from nearly two centuries of royal practice. Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of the UK sovereign since 1837 and has been the London home of every British monarch since Queen Victoria.

Royal officials said the palace will remain the monarchy’s administrative, ceremonial and operational headquarters. The King will continue to host state banquets, garden parties, receptions, audiences with the prime minister and meetings with new ambassadors there.

“His Majesty retains huge affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect for its role in royal and public life,” a palace spokesperson said. “It will be a buzzing hive of royal activity in every other way.”

James Chalmers, keeper of the Privy Purse and the senior official responsible for managing the King’s financial affairs, said Buckingham Palace “is and will remain Monarchy HQ, the crown jewel of our national buildings.” He said the King and Queen would “have access to private rooms within the palace where they can retire during the course of a working day, and which could be utilised as potential residential accommodation in times ahead.”

“This is both a change from the past and a recognition of the future,” Chalmers said. “Let me be clear, however, that in all other ways Buckingham Palace will continue to be both the ceremonial and operational centre of royal life.”

Charles and Camilla have lived together at Clarence House, beside St James’s Palace, since their marriage in 2005. The BBC reported that the couple, both in their late 70s, did not want the upheaval of moving themselves and their staff to Buckingham Palace. Officials also cited security concerns, saying the King’s residence at the palace could restrict visitor numbers and limit the areas open to the public.

Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms currently open to visitors each summer and on selected dates during the rest of the year. NPR reported that the palace receives about 700,000 visitors annually, and officials said the new arrangement could allow expanded tours, more events and longer public opening periods, generating additional income.

The refurbishment, due to be completed in March, is replacing ageing cables, lead pipes, wiring and boilers, many for the first time in 60 years, after concerns about fire and water damage. The program began in 2017 to update plumbing, wiring and heating and prepare the 775-room palace to continue housing the monarchy for decades.

The announcement came alongside new financial disclosures showing Charles became the first British monarch to reveal his tax payments. He paid £12.9 million in income and capital gains taxes in the 2024-25 financial year, up from £11.7 million the previous year. The BBC reported that the figure placed him among the UK’s top 100 taxpayers for 2024-25.

Prince William also released tax details Thursday. His office said he paid £7.76 million in income and capital gains taxes in 2024-25, down from £8.34 million the previous year.

The accounts also showed changes to the Sovereign Grant, the state funding used for official royal duties. A temporary increase introduced to fund the palace overhaul will end as refurbishment work finishes. The overall grant is set to fall from £137.9 million to £99.9 million in 2027-28, though that remains above the core grant of £51.8 million in 2024-25 and £72.1 million in 2025-26.

Officials said the remaining uplift will support maintenance at occupied royal palaces, cyber security at royal residences and energy-efficient heating systems. About £11 million has been set aside to replace boilers nearing the end of their life at Windsor Castle.

NPR reported that the announcements came after months of scrutiny over links between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Craig Prescott, a constitutional law and monarchy expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the tax disclosure underscored the idea that the monarchy is a public institution whose workings should be public.

“If they’re open and as transparent as possible, then the contrast with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor becomes all the greater,” Prescott said.