King Charles III and Queen Camilla will not take up residence in Buckingham Palace once its costly 10-year refurbishment is complete, the British royal household announced Thursday. Instead, the king and queen will remain at Clarence House, a stately home a short distance from the palace, where Charles has lived since his years as Prince of Wales. The decision effectively ends nearly two centuries of tradition: Buckingham Palace has been the primary London residence of every British monarch since Queen Victoria moved in during the 1820s.
Royal officials were quick to emphasise that Buckingham Palace will not lose its central role in public life. It will remain, in the words of senior royal official James Chalmers, "the ceremonial and operational centre" of the monarchy — the setting for state banquets, formal audiences, and the familiar balcony appearances that have marked moments of national significance. With the refurbishment, which carries a price tag of £369 million (approximately $487 million) and is due to be completed next year, the palace will also expand public access, increasing visitor numbers beyond the roughly 700,000 people who already tour the building each year. The renovation, which began in 2017, was undertaken to overhaul obsolete plumbing, wiring, and heating systems and to ensure the 775-room building remains fit for purpose for at least another 50 years.
Royal commentators have greeted the news with cautious interest. Author and royal historian Ed Owens described the decision as an opportunity, but warned against leaving such an iconic building largely empty. "I'm hoping for a second act in terms of this decision," he said. "I'm waiting to see whether there will be a more radical proposal for what Buckingham Palace might be in the future."
The palace announcement came alongside a separate disclosure that broke new ground: Charles became the first British monarch to publicly reveal the taxes he pays. 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 — a sum that places him among the top 100 taxpayers in Britain. Prince William, the Prince of Wales, also released his figures, showing he paid £7.76 million in the same period. Under British law, the monarch is not legally obliged to pay income or capital gains tax, but Charles, following a precedent set by his mother Queen Elizabeth II after 1993, does so voluntarily.
The twin announcements reflect a deliberate effort by the palace to project openness at a sensitive moment for the institution. The royal family has faced months of damaging coverage surrounding the relationship between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Constitutional law expert Craig Prescott of Royal Holloway, University of London, noted that greater transparency serves a strategic purpose: "If they're open and as transparent as possible, then the contrast with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor becomes all the greater."