Royalists and monarchists always claim that the Windsors are “good for tourism” and that people come to the UK specifically because of their monarchy. While I’m sure that’s true in some sense, let’s be fair to the European countries which dumped their monarchies long ago and turned their palaces and castles into pure tourist attractions. Those countries (like France) have worked it out that you actually don’t need to have a current monarchy to profit from all of those royal remnants. Speaking of, King Charles is being praised this week for making the bold decision to open up Balmoral Castle for paid tours this summer. Charles also decided to open up Buckingham Palace’s tours to an even more extensive part of the palace – as in, tourists will actually get to see “the balcony” and more of the state rooms. All of the tickets for Balmoral and BP tours sold out quickly. Which… just shows that people are interested in seeing the castles and palaces. But please allow the king’s biographer to lavish praise on Charles for his bold tourism decisions:
King Charles III’s decision to open his royal residences to the public indicates he has realised ‘the need for the monarchy to evolve’, a royal expert has claimed. Earlier this week, in an unprecedented move, His Majesty, 75, announced that Balmoral Castle – the late Queen’s favourite retreat in Scotland, will open its doors to members of the public. Days later, news landed that Buckingham Palace’s famous centre room, where the Royal Family gather before appearances on the balcony, is also to open to the public for the first time.
A leading royal expert has since told FEMAIL that the move is due to Charles wanting the Royal Family to be ‘more transparent and cost effective’. Writer and broadcaster Robert Jobson, author of Our King: Charles III – The Man And The Monarch Revealed, said the King has been ‘mulling over’ the decision for some time.
He said: ‘The King has been mulling over these plans to open up the royal residences to the public for some time. It has even been mooted that Balmoral Castle might one day become a museum. This is a good compromise. Making these buildings more accessible to the public is just part of acknowledging the need for the monarchy to evolve. These historic buildings need to be cost effective as they are very expensive to run too. This helps that. The King has always wanted the Royal Family to be more transparent and cost effective. This is all part of that and will generate money for the local communities around the royal residence too by bringing in more tourists.’
While Balmoral and Buckingham Palace’s centre room are the latest buildings to open to the public, they join a list of others offering public observation, including Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and Tower of London.
After news broke that Balmoral would welcome members of the public, royal fans went wild, with tickets to the Scottish estate, which cost between £100 and £150, selling out in less than a day, causing the website to crash.
Those who missed out on the opportunity, however, are in luck as for the cost of £75, visitors will be able to take a guided tour around the London-based Buckingham Palace. Members of the public will be able to take a look behind the scenes of Buckingham Palace’s east wing – the front façade, which faces The Mall where crowds assemble on major occasions to see the monarchy.
Balmoral is owned “privately” by the king, but Buckingham Palace is “publicly owned” and currently being extensively renovated at great cost by the British taxpayer. The money from these new tour-schemes will go right back into the monarchy. Arguably, the BP tours will help pay for the upkeep of the drafty old palace. But the Balmoral tour money goes where, exactly? It’s owned by Charles, not the state. Anyway, despite this being billed as some kind of bold leadership move by Charles, all I can think about is how money could be made if they ended the monarchy and ran tours of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Clarence House, Balmoral, Kensington Palace, St. James’s Palace and Sandringham full time, eleven months a year (one month off for general maintenance). Also: this is Charles admitting that he can’t stay at all twelve of his main residences at once.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- EMBARGOED TO 2200 GMT FRIDAY DECEMBER 23 King Charles III during the recording of his first Christmas broadcast in the Quire of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. Issue date: Friday December 23, 2022.,Image: 746320483, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- The Royal Family receive the crowds and look on at the flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour, the King’s Birthday Parade, London, UK on June 17 2023. Present (L-R) Sir Timothy Laurence, the Princess Royal, (Princess Anne), Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Princess of Wales, HRH Prince of Wales (Prince William), HM King Charles III, HM Queen Camilla, Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Edward), Duchess of Edinburgh (Sophie), Duke of Kent, Duchess of Gloucester, Duke of Gloucester.,Image: 783948830, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lee Floyd / Avalon
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- London, UK 07th Nov 2023. HRH King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the carriage. They appear to look and wave at anti-royalist protesters holding “Not My King” signs. The Royal Procession and carriage, with the king wearing the Imperial State Crown, on the procession route from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords in London for the State Opening of Parliament and King’s Speech.,Image: 820407919, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter / Avalon
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- TETBURY, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 13: King Charles III poses with his cake as he attends his 75th birthday party hosted by the Prince’s Foundation at Highgrove House on November 13, 2023 in Tetbury, England. Guests include local residents who have been nominated by friends and family and individuals and organisations also turning 75 in 2023.,Image: 821847188, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- London, UK, 05 March 2024: King Charles III meets with Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt in the private audience room at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 853883512, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown / Avalon
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- The Ambassador of Mauritania, Samba Mamadou, presents his credentials to King Charles III during a private audience at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Wednesday March 6, 2024.,Image: 854263030, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Victoria Jones / Avalon
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- EMBARGOED TO 2230 WEDNESDAY MARCH 27 EDITORIAL USE ONLY. Publications are asked to credit BBC/Sky/ITV News. The photograph is being made available by way of license on condition that the photograph shall be solely for news editorial use only; there shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photograph – including any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-editorial use. The image must not be digitally enhanced, cropped, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. Undated handout photo issued by the Royal Household of King Charles III during the recording of the The King’s audio message which, was recorded in the 18th Century Room at Buckingham Palace, London, for the Royal Maundy Service which will take place at Worcester Cathedral on Thursday. Issue date: Wednesday March 27, 2024. Photo credit should read: BBC/Sky/ITV News/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.,Image: 860289484, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: BBC/Sky/ITV News / Avalon
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- King Charles III and the Camilla Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Colchester Castle to mark Colchester’s recently awarded city status. Featuring: King Charles III and Camilla Queen Consort Where: Colchester, England, United Kingdom When: 07 Mar 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- Easter Mattins Service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Berkshire. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 31 Mar 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
How gauche using his royal conecctions to make money!!
I’ll be happy to get a report on how many bathrooms it has.
😂😂😂
Right!
But Meghan!
Meghan should not make money while Charles and Kate have cancer! How dare she make money before August (psst! they probably look up how long the patent application should take and act like they are directing her), She must be ‘very careful’
Charles makes money while Charles has cancer is good for his and Kate’s cancer!
4. All of BP has four bathrooms which is why they are obsessed with Harry’s 12 bathrooms in Montecito 😂
4. 😂😂😂😂
Would love to book my Balmoral trip…just as soon as they confirm we’ll be able to recreate the famous Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell photo where they’re shown at the same Balmoral cabin porch location depicted in a QEII photo. There’s really no reason to exclude the cabin porch from the tour. Soooo into tradition here! Want my bucks Chuck? Werk it dude.
I don’t think it’s a bad idea but the price is outrageous.
“ These historic buildings need to be cost effective as they are very expensive to run too. ”
This is true—historic buildings require eye-watering amounts of cash. However, not to put too fine a point on it, Balmoral is in the hands of a multimillionaire who actually can afford renovations and upkeep. That is ridiculous.
The thing about parasites is, you never know when or how they are going to attack.
Charles is one greedy king.
This. I’m always confused. Charles is given money yearly from tax-payers as well as his estate. So why doesn’t he pay for the upkeep? Am I too assume the cost is too great? Despite how much money he gets every year?
@Jais – Balmoral and Birkhall are privately owned by KCIII. He can not use taxpayer money for the upkeep of the Sandringham Estate (also privately owned) or the Balmoral Estate which includes Birkhall. With charging people to tour Balmoral Castle, he can use all the money for the upkeep of the entire estate.
Also, KCIII really does NOT care for Balmoral Castle. KCIII much prefers Birkhall Castle.
‘more transparent and cost effective’
Agreed. So I assume this means we’re reducing the sovereign grant? Hurrah, think of all the great things that money could be spent on.
Yeah, I’d be interested in a tour but not at that price, not unless it includes a meal. What if you pay that much & you only get to look through a doorway rather than actually get to walk into these fabulous rooms? That kind of tour bugs me.
the 150 pricetag includes tea. still….thats steep.
The price KCIII is charging for Balmoral private tours is in line with what the Cholmondeley’s are charging for the “private” and “first rate tier” tours of Houghton Hall.
Gosh, instead of turning Balmoral into a museum, selling it off to a hotelier, or making it into a conference center, KC3 is getting praise for fleecing the public?
As stated, Versailles is a museum and it’s not part of a current king’s 13 or so palaces.
🎯
£100 or £150 with afternoon tea. Where is the money going? Straight into his personal account I assume to be passed to the Cow’s kids?
Is the tea cup and saucer included in that price? Top tier snacks? I don’t even spend that kind of money for concert tickets.
Whoever had this idea, its a good one. I would love to see Balmoral, especially if they let you see areas like QEII’s old study etc. And BP should be more open to the public, especially if there isn’t a monarch living there.
Now the question of where the money is going is a valid one – with BP presumably its going to help with maintenance and repair costs, at least one would hope. But with Balmoral its going directly to help Charles with the costs of running the estate. So while I said above that I would love to see Balmoral (and Sandringham as well), I’m not doing it so that Charles can continue to line his pockets.
I want to see the tiny rooms they put William and Harry in as kids.
As I’ve commented above, unless this means they will reduce the sovereign grant I don’t see the benefit beyond making them richer. How bold and how brilliant, for them.
Hadn’t Charles talked about this before? And I remember a piece that said he was considering turning BP into a museum because he had no interest in living there. Anyway, Balmoral must be a money pit and I don’t see how increased tours will make a dent in the expenditures, let alone line Charles’ pockets.
Well the money surely isn’t going to hurt him – so yes, it will make a dent in the expenditures, because that extra 100k isn’t coming out of his wallet now but from the tours.
So spend big money to tour balmoral (where Meghan was snubbed) or BP (where the courtiers regularly malign her). Pass on both.
Sounds good to me.
Imagine how much money could be saved if they put the whole royal family in one palace?? Just use the 1,000 bedroom Windsor castle and then rent and lease out the rest. Can you imagine the drain on tax payer funds to secure all those residences and how all that money could be used to benefit the tax payers? I am constantly shocked at the many ways the royals have to hoard wealth.
Also, it would make the tours more interesting. Windsor Castle is a great place to tour but there is so much you can’t see bc its the private quarters of the royal family – which makes sense, but then it does cut off about half the castle from the tour. As opposed to the tower of london, where it feels like you can see everything and could spend days there.
For me, part of the mystique of country house tours is knowing that the family is just behind a few walls. Even thinking about them roaming these halls privately when it’s off-season is imaginatively charging for me.
@Shawna oh I get that! and I can understand it generally, but I admit by the fourth receiving room at Windsor I was kind of over it and was like, I want to see the Queen’s zoom room, LOL.
It does seem like these tours immediately became popular. Another good move by Charles and BP.
Is KC brilliant or did he just watch Downton Abbey?
He already charges people to visit Highgrove, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Castle Mey and Drumfires House. He’s just expanding his source of income. Neither, he’s just greedy.
This is because the King doesn’t want to live in BP, I think.
But when the Wales take over, transparency & frugality will fly out the window, so what’s the point? It’s just another grift to line Chuck’s pockets, and make him look good.
‘Transparency’ is opening up the books, it’s shining a light on the hiring process, it’s telling the public that you have a serious illness & saying what that is, and so on. It is NOT asking that public to pay an exorbitant rate to view rooms in a place you rarely, if ever, inhabit.
I wonder if Charles will still do the Balmoral summers like his mother? Or is this more dismantling of the memories of reign? More selling off of her race horses and dogs. I guess Charles knows he doesn’t have long so I guess he has to make his mark somehow.
They will still use it but probably not for the length of time QE2 did as she loved that place – he and Cams still have their Birkhall home which is smaller and elsewhere on the estate so they can stay there.
Balmoral desperately needs updating and modernising and I suspect that the money raised will go to that – Chuck is like his father in that they were both big on making the royal estates self sufficient. Philip did a LOT of work like that on with Windsor.
and Sandringham!
“Balmoral desperately needs updating and modernising and I suspect that the money raised will go to that ”
Which makes me wonder where the money all went. Yes, I know Balmoral was the queen’s personal property but, the woman is a wealthy as Zeus. The family is given money to help with the upkeep of buildings but, somehow the taxpayer ends up paying for the renovations. Buckingham Palace is a prime example. Somewhere along the line the money was syphoned off elsewhere so that now the taxpayer is not only paying for modernising the palace but, for repairs which should have been carried out years ago.
We know that money that was meant for the work at BP was ‘transferred’ to the Keens to pay for the reno’s at KP Apt 1. That was the first round of reno’s – there was another round of reno’s a few years later that they apparently paid for themselves.
I think the reason why Balmoral was never updated was because of QE2 – she loved it as it was, apparently. I remember reading that somewhere.
Not only that… the “public” aspect of BP is a very few rooms and a small sliver of the art the royals currently “hold on behalf of the British”. It costs a fortune and really hard to get tickets.. that is like saying “I give to charity weekly!” and what you do is put 5p, a mint and a soggy tissue in someone’s begging cup.
“…all I can think about is how money could be made if they ended the monarchy and ran tours of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Clarence House, Balmoral, Kensington Palace, St. James’s Palace and Sandringham full time, eleven months a year (one month off for general maintenance).”
Exactly. I’ll also add that the Royal Family is charging too much money to visit Balmoral and BP. The average citizen is being priced out of visiting these sites that are maintained by taxpayers’ money. If Charles truly wanted to give a gift to the nation he would allow people to visit these places for free. Charles deserves no praise for taking money from people.
This!
If you show up with a British passport at any of the taxpayer funded places they should just let you in as you’ve already paid.
Any British or Commonwealth resident should have the right to just walk into any Royal palace, get a snack out of the fridge and use the toilet if they wish.
Am not surprised that Chuck is doing this, he did it with a few of his other properties. But the ticket prices are outrageous esp given the remote location of the place but it will be a nice little earner for them as people will flock to it. There is a LOT of history there.
Greedy Chuckles and new forms of receiving money he doesn’t need.
Balmoral should be given to the people of Scotland.
And I thought visiting Versailles was expensive.
Oh how they like to deceive. You won’t see where the Queen lived in Balmoral, you will see the rooms ALREADY seen on television, it’s the rooms used for greeting prime ministers or making public speeches from. Same with buck house. The large room behind the balcony has already been seen by people and Paddington bear, and certain P. Ms and heads of state. You won’t go out onto the balcony. It’s all just another money making con by Charlie the penny pincher. We should give the palaces over to the country run them FULLY as tourist attractions and use the money on necessary services like the N. H. S and schools plus housing. The family all have bloody houses, most have more than one. They can use KP as a suit of royal offices and have a large function room for visiting dignatories. They don’t NEED more and we don’t need to keep bloody funding them. This is obviously what Heather was telling me about more staff being taken on at Balmoral, BUT remember, Balmoral estate is massive and there are an awful lot of cottages on the estate that the Royals use!! And the castle won’t open during Royal “holiday season”.
Mary Pester, I wonder if the new jobs they created for this are only temporary–just for certain months of the year?
@saucy&sassy, temporary lovey, Charlie has everyone on temp minimum pay contracts
I just want to know what’s going on with some of the lodges,like the Queen’s favourite one when she went out for picnics and bbq’s, because that’s where she stayed with Philip, and where those two sickos Epstein and murdoch were pictured
Mary Pester, do you think Bone Idle is there?
People who tour historic palaces & castles & etc. aren’t ‘royal fans’, but rather history buffs, architecture buffs, & so on. The sycophancy is strong today.
Whenever I see royals posing in some palace room, I look at the stonemasonry, the tapestries, the artwork and antiques, and think about the lifetime of skill and effort that went into shaping that keystone or making that vase, and think about how whoever worked a lifetime to perfect that craft is worth a thousand of any royal wastrel who did nothing to earn any of it, and takes all that time and expertise and artistry for granted.
A very good point.
Charles may be the exception who does appreciate the tremendous skills and real passion that went into the making of such wonderful pieces. The late Queen and Philip were known philistines but, like him or not, Charles is different so it’s probable he very much appreciates them. Perhaps more than we realise.
For me, at least he’s making a start opening up more parts of the palaces to the public. And the income will likely be ploughed back into enhancing things for future visitors.
SenseOfTheAbsurd, I also think about the people who maintain all of it including any drapes, etc. They would need to be very skilled.
The prices for these tours really went up.
What’s so brilliant, everyone has tours of palaces and castles in Europe and guess what? You don’t need a “monarch” to do so. These folks are ridiculous.
I’m pretty sure we took a Buckingham Palace tour years ago with my royalist mother-in-law. (My older daughter was still a toddler, and we had to keep her from swinging the velvet ropes LOL).
Charles isn’t all that revolutionary — a revolution would actually be good for the Brits.
Why are they unwilling to contribute the palace to the homeless? Or use the palace as a museum?
They can also live in ordinary residences.
Even after Diana’s divorce, she refused to move out of Kensington Palace and demanded to continue living in a Windsor dynasty residence. Didn’t she claim that this family’s cold-blooded indifference had imprisoned her freedom? It seems that she has no objection to enjoying the glory and wealth of the royal family. She also requested the use of helicopters. Even after divorce, she will continue to nibble on the taxpayer’s money.
Also, isn’t William claiming to help the homeless? These saints are all greedy and hypocritical.
The queen allowed Diana to stay at k p with The royal children she had with Charles. Diana did not demand it. Diana deserved every penny of that divorce settlement. What glory of the royal family. She was way too good for them
News flash, I went on a paid tour of Balmoral back in the 2000’s when QEII was very much alive. This was not Charles’ idea, lol.
Also the queen mother’s childhood home g l a m I s castle was open for tours years ago when the q m was still alive.