King and Queen will never live at Buckingham Palace
King and Queen will never live at Buckingham Palace
Hannah FurnessThu, June 25, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC
35
While Buckingham Palace will remain the administrative headquarters of the Royal family, Clarence House will serve as the King and Queen’s official London residence - Samir Hussein/WireImage
The King and Queen will never live at Buckingham Palace, it has been announced, confirming the first change to the monarch’s official residence in almost 200 years.
Clarence House will serve as the King and Queen’s official London residence, while the Palace, currently undergoing a £369m refurbishment, will remain the administrative headquarters of the British Royal family.
The decision, announced as part of this year’s annual briefing on the Royal family’s finances, officially brings to an end the living arrangements established under Queen Victoria.
In a royal first, the King has also revealed his tax bill, in an effort to improve “transparency” in the monarchy.
The monarch has paid more than £30m since he ascended the throne in 2022, with a tax bill of £12.9m in 2024-25 putting him in the top 100 taxpayers in Britain.
The royal accounts, published on Thursday, reveal that the Prince of Wales paid £7.76m in income and capital gains tax in the most recent financial year.
The Sovereign Grant, which increased in 2017 to pay for Buckingham Palace’s refurbishment, rose by £45.8m to £132.1m in 2025-26. The money, which is the core funding of the monarchy, will fall to £99.9m in 2027-28.
A monarch has not lived at Buckingham Palace since March 2020, when Elizabeth II moved out of London and into Windsor Castle during the Covid pandemic.
Buckingham Palace ‘will continue to be both the ceremonial and operational centre of royal life’ - Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
It had been thought that the King would move back once the refurbishment was complete. But aides have confirmed that the King, who is 77 and living with cancer, will stay at Clarence House, into which he moved in 2003.
The King and Queen will retain private rooms at Buckingham Palace and will continue to work from offices there.
A spokesman for the King said: “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.”
Advertisement
He added that the King wanted the Palace to be used for “greater public benefit rather than greater private benefit”.
It is understood that the Prince of Wales does not wish to live at Buckingham Palace when he becomes king either, indicating that Forest Lodge in Windsor is his family’s “forever home”.
Newly confirmed arrangements, which have already been in place during the King’s reign, will see the Royal Standard flying over Buckingham Palace when the monarch is residing in London, including at Clarence House.
While the King and Queen will continue to work at Buckingham Palace, their permanent residence will continue to be Clarence House - Karwai Tang/WireImage
It will also be used for future state visits, with the King and Queen expected to sleep there on occasion when hosting overseas dignitaries.
The 775-room Palace is nearing the end of a 10-year re-servicing project to make it safe and fit for purpose.
Buckingham Palace’s East Wing has been re-serviced, along with other areas of the property - Peter Smith
James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “After careful consideration, and to greatly increase opportunities for public access, the King and Queen have decided not to adopt Buckingham Palace as a personal residence and will instead continue to use Clarence House as their London home.
“Their Majesties will, however, have access to private rooms within the Palace where they can retire during the course of a working day, and which could be utilised as potential residential accommodation in times ahead.
“This is both a change from the past and a recognition of the future. Let me be clear, however, that in all other ways Buckingham Palace will continue to be both the ceremonial and operational centre of royal life.
“It is and will remain Monarchy HQ, the crown jewel of our national buildings, with the sovereign’s standard flying proudly from the roof whenever His Majesty is in London, just as it has done since accession.”
The Palace has been used by a monarch since 1837, when Queen Victoria moved in and made it her official London residence.
King George VI and the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, at home in Buckingham Palace - Corbis Historical/Hulton Deutsch
It was during this time that the fourth wing of the residence was built, creating a quadrangle and requiring the move of Marble Arch to the north-east corner of Hyde Park.
Major renovations were undertaken in the early 20th century by her grandson George V, who raised his family in the residence.
His son, George VI, remained in the Palace during the Second World War, in a show of solidarity with the capital’s population during the Blitz.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
