Why Prince Charles may avoid Buckingham Palace when he becomes King—and live here instead

Prince Charles might avoid Buckingham Palace when he becomes king, but that’s not the only royal residence that could be passed over in the future, it’s been claimed. 

• Prince Charles could break with 184 years of tradition and decide against making Buckingham Palace his seat after he becomes king, it's been claimed. 
• Royal commentators have suggested the Prince of Wales might choose to remain at Clarence House when he ascends to the throne and that things will look “very, very different” to how they are now.  
• In other royal news, Queen's heartbreak as she takes Prince Harry’s recent comments about parenting in the Royal Family ‘very personally’ has been revealed. 

Prince Charles is already predicted to be planning to “cut down” the Royal Family and “ditch” close relatives in the future, but there could be more significant changes lying in store when he becomes king. The Prince of Wales has been seen taking an even more prominent role in recent weeks, supporting the Queen as she grieves the loss of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip. 

Now it’s been suggested by royal commentators that when Prince Charles ascends to the throne, he could break with 184 years of tradition. Since Queen Victoria came to the throne, the principle royal residence of the British monarchy has been Buckingham Palace. 

Known for its stunning architecture and balconies where the Royal Family can be glimpsed on huge occasions like Trooping the Color, it’s hard to imagine the future monarch anywhere else. However, it could be that Prince Charles decides against moving from his current London home, Clarence House. 

Speaking on the Pod Save the Queen podcast, host Ann Gripper and Daily Mirror Royal Editor Russell Myers speculated that Prince William will also be a consideration for Charles. This is because when Prince William is invested as Prince of Wales himself in the future, it may be expected that he occupies his father’s former residence. 

Russell pondered: “Whether Charles actually goes to live in Buckingham Palace… Will he stay in Clarence House?

“Certainly William doesn’t necessarily then want to upheave all his family to go and live in Clarence House.

“So I think it will look very, very different to how it looks now,” he explained. 

Russell and Ann were discussing recent reports that Prince Charles is planning on making major changes to royal palaces after becoming king—something Russell described as a “great idea”.

It’s been claimed that the Prince of Wales is hoping to open many royal palaces to the public for longer periods of time throughout the year. Though two of the Queen's favorite residences may find themselves out of regular use by Charles in the future too. 

The Queen has spent much of the past year at Windsor Castle, but according to The Sunday Times, Charles is not as fond of the Berkshire residence as he finds being under the Heathrow flight path a distraction. Meanwhile, the Queen is known to love Balmoral Castle, but Charles already has his own Scottish residence, Birkhall. 

A royal source told the publication: “He will still do things at Windsor, but it won’t be his base like it is for the Queen, and he will look to open it up much further. When he’s in Scotland, he’s ensconced in Birkhall, and he wouldn’t necessarily see moving to Balmoral as appropriate or necessary.”

Whether or not Prince Charles remains at Clarence House when he becomes king, there certainly seem to be big plans for the monarchy's historic royal palaces.