Buckingham Palace is unlikely to be lived in by another British monarch again, as royal aides confirm the King and Queen will remain at Clarence House after the reservicing programme finishes next year.
The eye-watering £369million of public money used to reservice “Monarchy HQ” over 10 years was initially justified because the sovereign would move back into the Palace, first occupied by Queen Victoria, once works were completed.
The works were also necessary to “avoid the very real danger of catastrophic failure leading to fire or flood” by upgrading the Palace's plumbing, electrical cabling and heating, which had not been updated since shortly after World War Two.
Queen Elizabeth II ceased using Buckingham Palace in March 2020, permanently relocating to Windsor Castle to isolate during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, the private apartments have remained unslept in.
Sources close to the Prince of Wales have already indicated Prince William never intends to move his family into Buckingham Palace when he becomes King, describing the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge as their “forever home”.
Royal aides insist His Majesty will still be seen regularly at Buckingham Palace, and will retain a suite of rooms for breaks between official engagements and to change outfits.
The option for a member of the Royal Family to sleep at Buckingham Palace remains, but this would happen on rare occasions only, if at all.
A spokesman for the King has told GB News: “The Palace will continue in every traditional way to be the beating heart of the Monarchy, just not its resting head.
“It will be a buzzing hive of royal activity in every other way. His Majesty retains huge affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect for its role in royal and public life.
“It will remain a working home, but we are seeking to widen public access precisely to maximise the national benefit of a publicly-funded building.”
It is understood King Charles would rather the Palace was used for “greater public good, rather than greater private benefit”.
Buckingham Palace's state rooms will still be used for official engagements and audiences, and offices will continue to be occupied by royal staff.
Paid-for public tours of the State Rooms and the East Wing will continue, and plans are in place to open a “Queen's Library” in the North Wing for public viewing - with proceeds going towards maintenance of the Royal Collection.
Meanwhile, roughly £12million a year of public funds will be used as part of the Palace's “clean energy transition” from next year, equivalent to around 12 per cent of the total annual funding.
This is up from £700,000 related to clean energy transition projects in the financial year 2025/26.
It is understood the money will partly be used to replace old gas boilers at Windsor Castle nearing the end of their life with air source heat pumps.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel tanks have already been installed at RAF Odiham and RAF Northolt, and the Royal Household continues to work towards a majority electric vehicle fleet with charging points in place across royal residences, including the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
In a historic move, the King has chosen to become the first British monarch to publish his tax bill, in an effort to make royal finances more transparent.
Tax payable for 2024/25 was £12.9million, making him among the top 100 taxpayers in the United Kingdom.
Prince William has also published how much personal income tax he's paid for the first time: £7.76million, down from the £8.34million the year before.
Since His Majesty's accession, King Charles has voluntarily paid more than £30million in tax.
Public money used to run the monarchy (known as the Sovereign Grant), and reservicing work at Buckingham Palace, equated to £132.1million for the financial year ending March 2026, calculated using a percentage of Crown Estate profits surrendered to HM Treasury.
From 2027/28, the annual Grant is expected to fall to just under £100million and remain flat for five years until the next review is scheduled, because work at Buckingham Palace will have finished.
However, this is a rise of more than £50million of public money, compared to the 2016/17 Sovereign Grant - the year before Buckingham Palace reservicing began.
Royal transport costs totalled £3.3million, with the biggest single expense being the Prince of Wales's official visit to Saudia Arabia, using a private jet.
The FCDO-requested trip in February cost £130,106.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
