Prince Charles has been making plans for the royal estates for years now. Prince Philip was the one who had a big say in how royal estates operated, but Philip basically passed those duties over to Charles even before Phil’s retirement. Charles has already put his stamp on Sandringham and, of course, the extensive Duchy of Cornwall holdings. But what will happen with Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St. James’s Palace and Windsor Castle when Charles is in charge? Well, little royal elves are talking to the Mail on Sunday about the changes Charles will make, and is already starting to make:
The Cambridges will move to Windsor: Other changes being considered under Charles’s wide-ranging plans include turning Balmoral into a museum to the Queen and moving the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge into Windsor Castle, The Mail on Sunday understands. Charles is said not to want the Berkshire residence for himself as its position under the Heathrow flight path makes it ‘too noisy’.
The streamlined monarchy & the streamlined royal estates: He has been meeting with courtiers to discuss what happens to the palaces when the direct line of accession is reduced to himself and Camilla, plus the Cambridges. The source said: ‘The central point is: when the Queen is no longer here, how do you effectively spread two generations of the family across quite a large number of properties? The Prince of Wales strongly believes that these places have got to deliver something for the public beyond just being somewhere for members of the Royal Family to live. Everything is seen through the lens of the question: ‘What value is this offering to the public?’ Everybody recognises it makes no sense to run so many residences but if you give them up entirely you will never get them back when Prince George and the younger Royals grow up and need somewhere to live.’
Andrew will still have Royal Lodge: The Duke of York is said to be particularly anxious about his home, Park Lodge in Windsor Great Park. However, courtiers say there is no suggestion he will be asked to move. Prince Edward and Princess Anne are also said to be safe in Bagshot Park at Windsor and Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire respectively. But others – including Andrew’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie – will be vying for accommodation in the reshuffle.
BP changes: Buckingham Palace, which is undergoing a ten-year, £369 million renovation, is set to be opened up on a much greater scale, with public access all year round instead of the usual seasonal admission. Meanwhile, the Monarch’s living quarters – which currently include 52 Royal and guest bedrooms and 188 staff bedrooms – will be dramatically cut. A friend of Charles said: ‘Despite what everybody thinks about him not wanting to live there, he will certainly have accommodation there – but it will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the Prime Minister at Downing Street. Both the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall are very practical and see that the reigning Monarch must live at Buckingham Palace, otherwise it would become like Hampton Court’ – a visitor attraction rather than a working royal palace.
Charles doesn’t want to use Windsor Castle: The friend added that the Cambridges are likely to move to Windsor – a relocation the family are said to want. ‘Charles is not keen on Windsor because it is quite noisy,’ the source added: ‘His view is that if he’s heading to Windsor, he may as well carry on to Highgrove in Gloucestershire.’ Charles is expected to keep his beloved Highgrove as his family home. It is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, which William will inherit when Charles becomes King. Then William will be his father’s landlord, taking £700,000 a year rent.
Charles won’t live in Clarence House? In London, Charles’s official Clarence House residence was originally earmarked for Harry but his departure to California means that is ‘no longer on the cards’. It is now more likely to be saved for Prince George, Princess Charlotte or Prince Louis, although its outdated decor is a turn-off for younger Royals. A source said: ‘No one is terribly fond of Clarence House because it’s still seen very much as the Queen Mother’s place.’
The Scottish properties: Charles intends to keep another of his grandmother’s properties – Birkhall in Scotland, which he inherited on her death in 2002 and one of the few places where he is said to feel at home. It is part of the Balmoral Estate, the Queen’s favourite residence. Balmoral’s grounds and gardens are closed to the public in the summer when she is in residence but under Charles, there is set to be far greater access. A source said: ‘The talk is of opening a museum paying tribute to the Queen.’
The Keens at Anmer Hall: The Cambridges look set to keep Anmer Hall, the nearby mansion which the Queen gave them after their 2011 wedding and also stand to inherit Llwynywermod, the Welsh home of the Prince of Wales.
So Charles wants to keep Highgrove as his country home, but Highgrove is part of the Duchy of Cornwall estates, which will be turned over to William? And William and Kate will be completely based at Windsor Castle when the Queen passes? Hm. I think that would probably work out well, given that William will still be a lazy jackoff when he’s Prince of Wales, and he’ll also be out of the way for King Charles. It’s also completely ridiculous for Charles to say NOW that he intended to put Harry in Clarence House – that was not the message Harry got several years ago, you know? That was when the Queen didn’t give Harry and Meghan the chance to have a London home, and then sent them to the servant’s quarters in Windsor. Blech. Anyway, all of the royal estates should be museums and/or sold off completely. Enough of this!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Wants to or forced to?
Well that definitely explains the moving to berkshire stories.
Side note: if the keens actually move into windsor castle it makes me even more happy that the sussexes are out of frogmore cottage
They actually still own it. When Harry went to London he stayed there even though Eugenia and her family rents it.
Get ready for a multi-million pound reno of Windsor, incl. soundproofing and multiple kitchen installations to “make it to Kate’s taste”. It’s also big enough, and private enough for TOBB to come and go to due his Rosebush pruning privately.
Why would someone who never seems to eat care what the kitchen looks like?
Harry and Meghan do not own Frogmore Cottage. They paid for the refurbishment and leased it for a couple of years. They do not own it, just as Andrew and Edward do not own the Crown Estate properties where they live.
I wonder how much the Cambridges will spend renovating Windsor Castle. And how much of that will they be forced to pay for…?
Haha… sorry! I didn’t scroll far enough to see you posted the same thought! Great minds and all that 😉
Charles is so desperate to convince us all the royals are gonna be GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY when he is king and to please not put his head on a spike please please. But for all his grandstanding he still won’t kick andrew out of royal lodge!?
Windsor is perfect for the Keens – he can head east into london and she can head west into berkshire and they can carry on living their separate lives under the same massive roof.
Andrew has a long lease on the property. It’s the same provision all flats and many houses in the England and Wales are owned on. Legally, once the lease is granted, the freeholder cannot reclaim the property unless the terms of the lease are violated and the leaseholder refuses to correct the violation. The morals or even criminal convictions of the person holding the lease are irrelevant and an attempt to evict might well be a criminal offence (laws designed to protect regular people). Even the RF try not to blatantly break the law in public and it appears it never occurred to them to get themselves exempted from the laws in question.
I don’t think Prince Charles really would give Clarence House to Harry. He just wants Harry to feel sorry and regretful about what he could have had if he stayed.
He can still give a residence to Harry if he really wants to no one is stopping him.
It’s funny to read that they’re worried about where the Cambridges kids will live if they give up too much residences. Windsor Castle alone is enough for them, they also have the KP apartment and Anmer Hall.
@Woke: Nah, Charles and the press know that Harry’s done with the UK. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gives up the lease to Frogmore Cottage at the end of March next year.
Amy I know Harry probably doesn’t want anything, however that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t give him anything. His children have as much right to get stuff just like William children because they are all Charles grandkids. It’s cold to already cut them out. These people all need to be moved into one apartment complex and give all these properties to the public to make money off of. These leeches are disgraceful
Over it, they already HAVE “cut out” Harry’s kids by refusing them titles (which would be their right, once Charles ascends the throne, as grands of the reigning monarch, as well as royal protection officers, which we all know Charles cut off ruthlessly when H&M were most vulnerable).
This family is beyond spiteful, and will truly shoot themselves in the foot, then complain they have to hop.
Tells me that william is none to pleased with his fathers plans to “slim down the monarchy and everything else that comes with it.
The Royal Family have too many properties. I agree with Kaiser that they should be sold off. And the reason for mentioning Harry is give the press some info on him. From my recollection there was talk of either Charles remaining at CH or William and Kate moving there when the Queen died. Harry at CH was never discussed. With all that being said, I think this story like the Cambridges moving to Windsor story was put out there in fulfillment of the Royal Family’s contract with the press. There’s no Harry and Meghan to throw under the bus so they have to give the press something.
They don’t want to sell any more of the U.K. to “foreign parties.” The Brits with money already have properties that they’re trying to keep up with, and most museums aren’t money-makers, so if they really want to save money, they’re in a pickle. I think it’s more about appearance than actuality, though.
@AmyBee – yes, the talk for years has been that Charles wants to remain in clarence house and BP would be turned into more of a working palace, not a residence – and be used for official events etc so it would still have a lot of the staff, including the chefs, but presumably there would be some restructuring. But also the Queen wanted to stay at Clarence House when she became queen and she was told that was not possible, so wonder if the same was told to Charles.
So many houses for the Cambridges to waste public money renovating. Mama Middleton must be thrilled. She’ll have her own assigned chambers in Windsor Castle – you just know it. If she and her daughter weren’t insufferable enough already, just wait.
If they won’t sell these excess properties – and they have SO VERY MANY – then turn them all into paying properties: museums or even hotels.
I am in agreement that the castles should be museums. Or maybe to a humanitarian effort (so many charities they sponsor they can easily choose) to set up a service to the locals and others in need.
And yeah, I bet Andrew is sweating his ass off worried what big bro is going to do. I would too if I took advantage of mummy all my life and created the messes he has AND now big brother gets to exert his power. What up Fergie and Andrew.
As for William and Kate, so much money thrown away on these too. Just add Anmer hall to the list.
Finally – everyone should ask what Chuky is saying: What value is this offering to the public? (This being the BRF)
“Everything is seen through the lens of the question: ‘What value is this offering to the public?’”
Lol, if they’d done that in the first place, the Sussexes might still be in the U.K., and the Cambridges would be learning that they need to produce something more than children and buttons. At present, the Cambridges do not offer value to the public, except to racists. Maybe that’s enough for them.
“Everything is seen through the lens of the question: ‘What can we do to ensure enough of the public don’t realise we offer no tangible value beyond racism and nostalgia and actively push to get rid of us?'”
Fixed it.
@ SarahCS, you are extremely dutiful in your ability to transcribe the utter BS coming from CH, Amner Hall or BP!! I love your ability to make it clear to those who want to obstruct the actual truth!!
They should return 90% of those properties back to the public or government. Turn some into museums, some into apartments or hotels, some into public parks, maybe a shopping center, etc. That family does not need to take up so much space. They can’t afford to maintain them on their own and end up taking public money to do so. It would be better to turn them into something profitable.
The whole “this property and this property are two of the only places that poor Charles feels at home. Wah!” Poor, poor man, he only has 2 palaces that he really “feels at home” in. All the other places that he owns, that the people spend millions of pounds a year to keep up for him, that he has decorated and changed and landscaped and likely monetized to his liking are just burdens to him, they’re not his favorite-favorites but he can’t get rid of them because then someone else would have them, and he wants to have them. Boo hoo. Guess what? I have one home that I feel at home in, and it’s my home, the one home that I own.
Museums really would be great. Most of the arguments that people come up with for keeping the monarchy is because of the tourism they generate. Turning these buildings into museums really would maximise that.
One of the aspects that I picked up from this story was that it feels as though Charles wants sympathy and praise for this decision.
The thing which bothers me most about the royals is that they’re the epitome of unearned privilege. They’ll never have to worry about being homeless or affording food. They can pick and choose what they do, more or less and how much of it they do.
I’d like to see an end to the monarchy, but it won’t change much, other than the tax payers not footing the bill. People will still be all over them with money and deals. They’ll still have huge personal wealth. I just can’t feel sorry for Charles giving up properties.
@GraceB – I agree that museums would be great. A place like Windsor, that’s already open to the public a lot, would be easy to convert into a FT museum – the building itself is part of the appeal. And for a place that maybe is less interesting in terms of the building, like Clarence House – use it for rotating exhibits so that all of the works in the royal collection can actually be shown to the public, rather than sitting in royal residences where no one gets to see them.
Clarence House could become office space for another govt department, complete with reception rooms for events. Doesn’t need to be a museum.
The question Charles should be asking is how the firm becomes self sustaining. If they stop taking tax payer money they can do f*ck all with their properties and no one will care.
He has no interest in a working royal family being self-sustaining. And why would he? They are government employees in govt housing. As such, they shouldn’t pay out of their own pockets.
What needs to be done is an all-out audit of everything, culminating in a massive cut in housing, expenses, work hours, and costs. Budgets all around overseen by government agencies, not Windsor sycophants. They can do whatever they want with private property (Balmoral, Sandringham), but henceforth they need to be treated as govt employees and put on a strict budget.
ETA, I don’t mean they should cut royal work hours. The audit should include how much they work, how often royals are stepping over each other in the same town. Move to central scheduling and minimum work hours per week, massively decrease the royal holiday months to the UK work standard.
I feel like if they were more regulated and budgeted, it could actually work better for the royals in terms of owing the press less and making their family lives and relations a bit less toxic (maybe over the next few generations though, since this current batch is already truly ruined). Right now, they’re all living these lives of luxury but they try to obfuscate how much they’re spending and magnify how much they’re working and amplify how valuable that work is, because they’re trying to make it look like they’re “worth it.” Obviously they’re not, though because they take so much and give back so little. So in order to keep the public and the press off their backs, they have to sell their private lives, go out and be papped with their young children, do Lion King baby reveals, push each other under the bus in order to take the focus off of themselves when they do something ridiculously corrupt or expensive and/or screw up royally at work or in their private life. And then because there’s all this “you owe me” contract thing going on with the press and the public, people expect to hear about their private lives and will go digging to learn about what they’re up to, and then their bad private life behavior has a greater potential for exposure.
But they set this all up themselves, paying this ridiculous price to the press in order to keep their aristocratic financial and sexual shenanigans and general work-shy laziness hidden, because they don’t want to give up all the money, the castles and palaces and mansions, the massive tax payer funded vacations, the jewels and gowns and fancy cars and private jets and helicopters. And they know that they’re not actually giving value back to the people that equates with the amount of money they take, so they have to offer up other things like their kids and private lives and palace gossip.
They need to be saved from themselves. They’re ruining their children, generation by generation, they’re ruining anyone who marries in, generation by generation, they’re ruining their own souls and living in a toxic waste dump because the cost is not actually worth the perks. They need to be treated like toddlers and given some boundaries and rules. You can live in this one house, you can have these many days off a year, you need to perform this many engagements a month, you get this much money for clothes and fun stuff, you get this much money for transportation and this is the car you will use. If they’re getting way, way less than they get now, and they have work requirements, their value for money is going to be much fairer and equitable and therefore, they won’t have to constantly be selling themselves, their kids, and each other out just to keep people distracted from asking questions about if they’re worth it.
Look Charlotte and Louis…see that darling corgi house over there? We’re saving that for the two of you when you grow up! Grandpa will be at the “flat over the store” and your big brother will be at a castle..
It’s funny to me that they are talking about Charlotte and Louis as if they won’t be forced into exile like their uncle Harry the moment they become too popular or George doesn’t like their spouse. Royal residences are a different concern when it’s about their kids, huh?
Let me go look at google images quickly. Ofcourse these palaces are huge but when i read they have hundreds of rooms i still get shocked. Like the thought of just the Keens KP portiion having 22 rooms is insane.
Right? How many rooms do they actually use on a daily basis?
What i am saying is that they really dont seem that huge,when you see them from pictures. Isnt that bigher than the White House residential area?
How many toilets must one have to be truly regal?
KP is hard bc its broken up into “apartments” so its hard to tell how big each one is exactly.
But if you look at ariel views of Bagshot, Gatcombe, Windsor, Buckingham, Sandringham, you get a better idea of how enormous these homes actually are.
Scale is difficult at KP. W&K have four floors, 50 rooms, 10 bedrooms just for staff. If you look for old pics of Princess Margaret’s restoration work it gives an idea of scale. The hallways alone in Apartment 1A are the size of large rooms.
Are these people aware that Harry and his children moved away but didn’t die? I mean I am sure Charles has lots of personal property plus he stand to inherit more from his mother. Why must the incandescent one and his children get everything and Harry and his nothing.? I know he is no longer a working royal so I am only referring to the personal properties. These people truly treat Harry like S for marrying a black woman
@Overit: Harry committed the ultimate betrayal. He left the family and so he’ll be punished in every way for, in their eyes, turning his back on them. I suspect Harry already knows he’ll be cut out of Charles’s will.
Harry was going to be put in Clarence House which looks like a home for a Royal grannie. The place no one particularly likes. Why doesn’t that surprise me at all. Harry will be fine cut out of the Will he was always slated for the crappy garage apartment anyway.
I think it is entirely possible that Charles intended to leave a legacy to Harry, as I think Philip and the Queen will do when she passes, but the main properties, titles, etc are to be passed to the heir…but yes, since Harry left I can see Charles not leaving Harry anything- no books, jewerly, cars, nothing at all.
I also think the things Charles CAN dispose will be left to Camila and Harry will get something like a thousand pounds as to not challenge the estate…but everything will be sealed for 90 years..
Harry will not be cut out of any wills. Property is another matter the Royals do not really own the properties in the sense that they can dispose of them, it has to be passed down and the upkeep is huge so makes no sense for Harry to have any of them.
Harry would never have been put in Clarence House. It is far too large and costly for that. He would always have ended up with a space at KP and/or a country place like Wood Farm at Sandringham.
The royals do not own Windsor Castle or any of the palaces. None of those would be in a will because they aren’t privately owned. Nor do they own any Crown Estate properties like Royal Lodge, Bagshot, etc. Balmoral and Sandringham are privately owned, but are only inherited tax-free if they go directly from monarch to monarch.
Aristocrats pass property from father to heir-not to father and sons. That is how they remained rich, as nothing was split between siblings. Spares could expect some sort of legacy for the men, dowry for the women and the new Head of the House was supposed to inherit it all, but also to support his relatives, meaning a horde of unmarried aunts and uncles would spend their old years living on the properties rent free. In name, they would have nothing.
For all the talk of Charles being modern, he is just keeping the tradition.
Also, remember that everything Charles leaves to William is tax-free, monarch to monarch. Harry and everyone else has to pay taxes on anything left to them from charles.
OK, so what would happen here:
Betty dies, Charles is monarch. Charles rules for say 10 years as monarch, then abdicates the throne while still living.
What would he be able to hold onto until his death? Would everything passed to William then be taxed?
So what is going to happen the W&K’s Kensington palace house that was JUST renovated??
It will free and open to the public! Lol, no. The Cambridges can’t be expected to stay there when they have so many other properties to renovate! Lol, probably.
They’ll keep it as their official London base for when they are in town doing engagements. They might keep Anmer Hall too, as a country pile. Moving to Windsor area, whether Windsor Castle or a Crown Estate property nearby? That’s a dodge to keep pretending they’re hands-on parents. No we’re not sending the kids to boarding school in Berkshire, we’re all moving to Berkshire together.
I think that Charles can make all the plans he wants but he knows that William seldom does what his father wants him to do and herein lies the problem.
I am reading this, at least in part, as William wanting to make sure that his children will have royal housing. There’s too much talk in this article about where the Cambridges will live and will George be in clarence house etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if the talks about slimming down ARE including the Cambridge children (Charlotte and Louis) and William is putting his foot down and so Charles is saying “well then you have to move to Windsor.”
But all this talk about “the houses can’t just be museums like Hampton Court” – that’s exactly what they should be. Windsor should just be turned into a full time museum, with full access. The monarch lives at Buckingham Palace, the heir lives at Clarence House or Kensington Palace (pick one), and that’s how it is going forward.
And one of the Cambridge children will definitely get Anmer (or one of their grandchildren) bc when William is king he’ll get Sandringham.
To me, that’s still too many properties. Small apartments at BP for when royals are in London for business. Otherwise, Charles and heir (and heir’s family) housed at Windsor Castle while keeping it open to the public. Empty the royals out of St James, Kensington, and Clarence House. Sell off Highgrove House and put the money back in to developing properties in Cornwall.
William will follow the family line. Sandringham will be inherited intact by George. His siblings might get to live in properties on that estate, they might not. But no one is breaking up the private massive estates by handing ownership of houses on those estates to younger siblings.
Those palaces are so large, they should ALL live in one, have offices in a second, and keep the Scottish estate Balmoral for vacations. Then sell or rent all the others to the public.
This is so tone deaf. “We realize we don’t need all these residences, but where will our 4 year old live one day if we don’t have these? With the plebians? Heavens forbid!”
I would suggest they get jobs like the rest of us and stop being welfare kings and queens but silly me. Why is the British public not demanding that these leeches give up some of these properties
@ Over It, I have the same question as well! Why are they so intent on speaking of these issues with regards to all of the wealth and properties that they are sparring over when the UK is falling apart at the seems? Are they that tone deaf as to how this looks? Are they that incredibly stupid and naive to think that this looks good? Who wants to read that they are siphoning off millions of more taxpayer funded money to refurbish BP while people are fighting in the streets for petrol?
How are the taxpayers NOT demanding more from the Royal Family to tighten their belts when every man, woman and child is doing so right now? How do the NHS feel about not being given their fair share of an increase to salaries when Chaz is concerned for proper housing for the Lambridges to have in 20+ years?
I am actually curious how those living in Britain feel, as I would be storming the streets for them to tighten their belts as well!
Don’t get me wrong, we have a horrendous issue of wealth discrepancy here in the US, but the fact that they are living off of those who work hard to sustain any form livelihood is upsetting.
So W&K are getting KP, Anmer, a place inside Windsor Castle AND this is on top of whatever William will get as Duke of Cornwall/Prince of Wales?!? It seems a bit overkill even for royals. I imagine Charles will tell William to let either Anmer or KP go. I imagine it’ll be Anmer because Windsor can become their “country” home.
And so what happens to CH? If C&C won’t/can’t live there and W&K don’t fancy it, they’re just going to keep it around for George to move in? Seems a waste. He can have St James’ Palace apartment or something.
I think the plan (as being discussed in this article) is that the Cambridges get Windsor Castle. All of it, like the Queen has it now. Not just a set of apartments in the castle or something. Which seems a little overkill considering they don’t work (since I imagine a lot of the rooms are meant for meetings, receptions, etc.)
But what this article also highlights is that the royals really do own too much property. It doesn’t even mention Frogmore House that Charles owns on Windsor grounds or the Castle of Mey. It really is ridiculous. How many houses does one family need? Like you said for the Cambridges – KP, Anmer, Windsor, a place in Wales…… that seems a little excessive and not at all “normal.”
Also, interesting that the one place Charles wants to turn into a museum is Balmoral, which is consistently described as “remote.” Not BP, not Windsor, not even Sandringham, but Balmoral. (although Sandringham is open for tours part of the year and someone said Balmoral is as well.)
Anyway it just seems like a bad look to remind everyone of how much property the royals own, so much they don’t know what to do with it.
They have access to too many properties. So what happens to Kensington palace? Charles is in Buckingham in a flat, the Yorks at Royal Lodge, the Wessexes at Bagshot, Anne at Gatcombe, the Cambridges at Windsor. So what happens to both Clarence and Kensington? Just sitting there waiting for the Cambridge kids to grow up? Instead of justifying slimming down, this article highlights the unnecessary excess.
@RoyalBlue and don’t forget Anmer, Sandringham, Highgrove, Charles’ place in Wales that we rarely hear about but apparently the Cambridges will get, etc. And yes, the idea that Clarence House would just sit empty for however long so it can be saved for George is kind of insane .
I think KP is the best situated because it is already broken into “apartments” and they could just rent out the apartments, even 1A. As more royals leave KP, you can factor in the cost of private security into the leases (since that’s one of the big perks of living there, the security.) It already has a space for wedding receptions, I think there’s a restaurant, it seems to me they could easily open all the residences up to the public to lease and make $$.
This is why I should read carefully. Thanks @Becks1. Anyways, it definitely is too excessive and they don’t need all of this, even for GCL. Let’s say George moves out around 21-22 (once he’s finished university). If his parents get the ENTIRETY of Windsor Castle, they can give him their KP apartment to him since they’ll have Anmer (assuming they don’t give it up) and whatever PoW/DoC gets so they’ll have property they may never use. C&L can have a place in St James’. And once W&K get the throne, George can move into Windsor (remember he’ll have the PoW properties), either Charlotte or Louis can get the KP apartment, and the one who didn’t get KP can keep their SJP place.
Since no one is using CH in my scenario, it can be opened up into a museum full time.
@becks1 don’t forget Holyrood and Balmoral. They need somewhere to spend the summer before they head to Sandringham for the winter.
Kp will go to the queen mother Carole.lolol
You just know she’s drooling at the possibilities of upgrading her residential status.
They are trying to hide several things with all this info about who gets what. First the BP renovation was approved for 300 million now it’s 369. When did the amt get raised and when was it approved. That money is additional taxpayer money added to the regular income from the sovereign grant. So this means the government approved an increase without any notice to the public. Second. A 100 million reno of Clarence House was approved in the basis that Charles was going to live there when he was King. Now he is saying he’s not. That is a dramatic change from his previous rhetoric. His explanation makes no sense. Versailles draws millions without a working royal family. So BP would draw tourists if the family didn’t work there. especially if they opened up previously private areas. Turning Balmoral into a museum would allow him to declare it a nonprofit the way he had done with dumfries house and castle mey. So the estate could earn money that could be poured back into the estate. Which would save the family money. Since Balmoral is a private property they currently have to pay for its costs. Which is why they always seeking various exemptions from taxes etc in Scotland. So that’s a business move. The Windsor Castle to William part of the deal strikes me as a way to appease William’s ego. I don’t think Charles wants to turn control of the Duchy to William for fear his incompetence with ruin the empire he’s built. And quite frankly I don’t think William actually wants to do work that running the Duchy would involve. So giving him Windsor as his personal estate could be part of a BTS deal. Charles continues to unofficially run the Duchy as he sees fit. William stays out of the way. William gets the satisfactions of having the whole Windsor estate under his control. This would soothe his ego for several reasons. There would be so many members of the family dependent on him for housing. He gets to have the place that has long been reported to be Harry’s favorite place. Having his “own” castle will appease his narcissism. He will get to pretend to be a King while waiting to be King.
Your comment should have been the basis for a serious newspaper article, but since the “free” press in that island treats the RF with special gloves, I doubt any professional journalist will write what you just did.
May I suggest you copy and paste your comment on the og source ? I mean , if you have time and interest that is. Curious to see if they would keep you comment up.
That first part, a $69 million increase to the renovation, from the taxpayers, but not made public. That’s some serious sh*t right there. They really get away with so much. Crimes against humanity and the state. Geez.
All of it ON TOP of what was given ORIGINALLY for the upkeep of all these places (the electrical, the plumbing, etc were ALL budgeted for upkeep over the years), which TQ redirected to use elsewhere (Repainting/2 Kitchens Kate come to mind?). Why does NO ONE ASK WHY the monies weren’t used for the intended use? Why bother with the SG that allocates these costs if they’re just going to keep giving hundreds of millions more every time one of those privileged peacocks squawk about how bad their lives/living conditions are?
Great points Catherine. I definitely wonder how much of the Windsor Castle talk is about William’s narcissism (probably a great deal) and how much of it ties into the stories from this summer about the Cambridges looking at property in berkshire/windsor.
It may be what played out years ago before they moved to Anmer. They were threatening to go out and buy a country home (meaning, Charles and Queen would have to buy with private funds, taxpayer secure it). Windsors knew that would look bad. W&K refused to live in the Duchy property Charles fixed up for them (Harewood). So Liz shoved the people out of Anmer to make room for W&K.
Now it is being replayed. Katie needs to be near mummy, they need to be in Berkshire to pretend they are hands-on parents (day vs. night boarding school for kids). Royals have to find somewhere to put them that causes the least fuss. They aren’t getting Royal Lodge, if they got Frogmore House the taxpayers would scream. Might be less screaming if they’re put in rooms inside Windsor Castle.
@Nota – could be what’s happening. but its clear that there is something going on behind the scenes, because we’re getting too many stories about the cambridges possibly moving to Windsor or Berkshire. I wonder if our thoughts last summer are right, that this is about setting Kate up in her “dowager” house (whether or not there is an actual divorce) ,and william stays at KP but maybe has a set of rooms at Windsor so that way its harder for people to realize they’re living separately?
That’s one of the things that makes me question the majority of this article. W&K were just complaining about feeling ‘overlooked’ at KP. They meant overseen/watched by public and by royal staff. They prefer Anmer and Wood Farm at Sandringham. They choose the staff themselves, aren’t watched and clocked by royal staff.
Moving inside Windsor Castle makes it more difficult to be lazy and for William to run off and see Rose or her replacement. Is this Charles refusing to let them have something huge like Frogmore House or Royal Lodge? No private property, no huge Crown Estate property. If you want to live in Windsor? You’re living in the castle where I can have the staff monitor your movements. Don’t see W&K liking that idea. Nor can I see Kate having divorce accomodations in Windsor Castle, but hey, Frogmore Cottage may be available soon. LOL
Oooh that’s a good point. If they’re at Windsor, they’re not going to be surrounded by their own people, they’ll be surrounded by Charles’ people (or the Queen’s depending on when this move happens.) And you CAN track the comings and goings at windsor more easily than Anmer (hence why people think the queen drove herself to see Harry when he was in town, etc., because they saw her in the car.)
Now i’m thinking this over in my head and I wonder if the original berkshire story was put out there by the Cambridges – will or kate or both for whatever reason – and Charles’ reaction was what some speculated – “hell no, you’re not getting a THIRD house” but then his next reaction was “well if you’re hellbent on Windsor, live in the castle. no huge renovations for you, no huge decoration changes for you, but hey, you’re in a castle.”
Sounds like they want to finance some of the upkeep costs with more tourist revenue – it’s not a bad idea, all in all. Charles is taking credit for it in public, but I think actual professionals came up with this plan. Even having the Keens in Windsor is a good move, keeps them from being underfoot – “promoveatur ut amoveatur”, if you will.
Harry looks smarter by the day for getting out before being saddled with great-granny house, or having to join in the begging for another place. I don’t think they’ll ever get him back, except for funerals.
That picture of “warm, genuine” Kate air-kissing Charles screams “l have to pretend to like you, but you’re standing in the way of everything my momager and I are impatient to achieve”
Hmmm, not sure I buy this – this stinks of a Middleton/Cambridge plant to see how Chuck/TQ reacts to the Keens being given a property that is pretty much another office of the Monarch. Me thinks they got slapped down over the attempts to bully themselves into Royal Lodge and are now trying to force their way into the castle itself.
As much as Chuck loves Highgrove, not sure he can keep it once he becomes King.
The more I think about it the more this story stinks of PR BS aimed at pushing the Keens to the top of the tree sooner than they would like to wait – wonder who is so ‘keen’ to get on the throne before her ass is divorced?
It has always been rumoured Charles wanted to move to Windsor Castle. This source pretending to be a friend of Charles? It does read as W&K&Carole trying to bullying their way in to what Charles wanted for himself. I suspect in response to not getting Frogmore House.
This sounds like a case of, ‘what’s up for grabs after mum passes away’ usually experienced by children of the deceased, except in this case the children are not fighting because only one holds the power, and this is how he flexes his muscles.
I’ll take this one, and William will take this castle, and my grandkids will have this palace. Just tone deaf rich people.
Definitely agree, these homes should be turned into museums or schools or something else that can actually benefit people. It’s ridiculous for this family to have some many residences in this day and age.
Of course the story is “give Clarence House to Harry and Meghan.” It’s outdated and needs major overhaul. Saddle them with that and then let them take the heat for the cost. Like Frogmore, which was previously SERVANTS QUARTERS FFS. Hard Pass.
This is ghoulish. The queen is not even lying in state yet and they divvy up the property?
Windsor Castle is part of the Crown Estate. It isn’t and never will be in Charles’s gift.
Another made up story
I think the article just meant that Charles would let the Cambridges live there, not transfer title to them.
Reading about this massive property haul just incenses me. All of these Crown properties passed around, yet to this day, those bastards are still complaining about the Frogmore renovation costs,which wouldn’t even cover the heating bills of all these palaces. Then they begrudge the Sussexes the house they bought with their own money, which is tiny in comparison to these palaces, which they have to pay a mortgage and property taxes on. Why are they this petty and awful?
It’s really shocking how much outrage and vitriol was aimed at Meghan and Harry. How they were nickel and dimed in comparison to the true shenanigans that go on. Sure, say it was bc Meghan was American…
Anne’s home is not part of the crown estate. It was purchased and gifted to her by her mother, she owns it out right, I would have thought the person who wrote the story would be aware of that and not include it in the piece. Charles is not doing Anne any favors by letters her stay, it’s not his to take away.
Her estate was fixed up with Crown Estate funds, to the tune of 5-10 million in today’s money. That property is worth far more today because of that restoration, none of which was paid for personally. The entire estate is also secured with taxpayer funds because of Anne’s status as a working royal.
She has a large townhouse in St James Palace, funded by taxpayer. She let’s her adult kids stay there whenever they want to live in London. All paid by taxpayers but nobody checks how often Anne gets away with this type of sh!t.
What about the Goldsmith Wing Gary was promised at BP?
All this reminds me of why I never cared much for “Downton Abbey.” So much of it was some of the main characters whining about keeping their “home,” whining when they thought they might have to sell and move to a house with ten bedrooms, or to something that they considered “vulgar,” etc. I could not bring myself to care about it or sympathize with them at all. It’s like Downton on steroids.
My take-away from this epic piece of bullsh*t is Charles has figured out that his reign is going to be marked, heavily, with the Lazies as his [insert hilarity] working royals. Figuring out how to turn properties into something meaningful for the public is easier than making Willnot and Cannot work. Yay?
It seems to me that H&M are getting just what they asked for when trying to take over the monarchy. They wanted to be independent & then told lies about Harry’s family & the country. I call that a scam to get more money.
Harry and Meghan never tried taking over the monarchy. They wanted to work with them but the monarchy always undermined and smeared them all the time. They were jealous of their success especially the Cambridges and the courtiers so much so that they even connived with the British media to take them down and humiliate them (most especially Meghan) on a daily basis. They offered half in-half out because they wanted to be of service to the Queen but William rejected that and wanted them out. The Brits always nagged them about the renovation of Frogmore and they paid them in full. But nothing is enough for them. They want to draw blood.
Now that the Sussexes are on their own and have to work their asses to put food on the table, pay bills, and send their children to school, the British media are still hot in their trail non-stop. But the Sussexes are right to ignore them. Everything now is on their terms. They are not beholden to them anymore.