Revealed: Why the Royal Family will NEVER return to Buckingham Palace, Charles and William's tax bill - and all their other financial secrets

By REBECCA ENGLISH, ROYAL EDITOR Published: 22:00, 25 June 2026 | Updated: 01:11, 26 June 2026 No British monarch will ever live at Buckingham Palace again despite a £369million taxpayer-funded refit of the historic royal residence. The King and Queen will not be moving in even when a decade-long refurbishment of the monarch's official London residence is completed next year, it was confirmed on Thursday. Charles and Camilla will instead reside permanently across The Mall at Clarence House. Prince William has already announced that he and his wife, the Princess of Wales, intend to remain at their private home, Forest Lodge in Windsor, when he eventually accedes to the throne, meaning the next sovereign will not even reside in the capital. The historic royal residence, first used by Queen Victoria in 1837, will instead open its doors to the public more each year in a bid to generate income and be less of a burden on taxpayers. Royal aides on Thursday insisted that the building would remain the 'buzzing hive' of 'Monarchy HQ', with meetings, receptions, investitures, audiences, state visits and garden parties all still held there. The apparatus of the Royal Household will also remain in situ, the only difference being that the King – who will come in for meetings daily when in London – will simply sleep next door. No British monarch will ever live at Buckingham Palace (pictured) again despite a £369million taxpayer-funded refit of the historic royal residence Queen Camilla and King Charles III watch an RAF flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after attending Trooping The Colour 2026 Members of Royal Collection Trust staff tend to a chandelier in the East Wing of Buckingham Palace 'It will remain the Crown Jewel of our national buildings,' a senior royal aide insisted. However the move will inevitably spark concern amongst some that without a monarch in day-to-day residence the palace will lose its 'heart and soul', not to mention its international cachet, and become another glorified office block. The historic revelation came as Buckingham Palace opened up its books for its annual financial review – which this year they have vowed is more 'transparent' than ever. The change in royal living arrangements was revealed on Thursday by the Keeper of the Privy Purse, James Chalmers, who said it had come after careful consideration by His Majesty and advisors. The monarch has long been looking at ways to open up Buckingham Palace to the general public and in doing so become more self-funding. Towards the end of her reign, Queen Elizabeth – who made no secret of her antipathy to living 'above the shop' – only stayed at the palace once or twice a week, preferring to base herself at Windsor Castle, which she adored. Your browser does not support iframes. The Yellow Drawing Room in Buckingham Palace is pictured during the refurbishment Members of the Royal Family wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping of the Colour 2026 The Yellow Drawing Room in Buckingham Palace is pictured after the refurbishments had been completed She last stayed there overnight on March 18, 2020, before decamping to Berkshire, where she remained for the duration of the Covid pandemic, and never returned because the ongoing building works had made her private suite of rooms uninhabitable. The renovations were badly needed given much of the palace hadn't been touched since the Second World War and parts were dangerously crumbling around her ears. Her private quarters were left to last to finish in view of her age. At the time royal aides insisted that a monarch would return to the historic seat of power once the decade-long building works were complete. However, their assurances appeared to waver in recent years, with officials saying it was 'intended' that a sovereign would take up residence again. While the decision has largely been driven by the King's personal determination to open up royal residences to the public more and lessen the burden on taxpayers, there is no doubt that he also feels more comfortable at 'homely' neighbouring Clarence House, where he has lived since 2003. He is now 77 and was diagnosed with cancer in 2024, a condition he is still receiving treatment for, although doctors are said to have been delighted by his progress. Outlining the decision, Mr Chalmers said: 'The purpose of the Reservicing project was, of course, to undertake essential works to prevent an iconic national building suffering from catastrophic fire and flood, and to make it fit for purpose as the centre of national life for generations to come. 'In doing so, it has always been our ambition to ensure new or enhanced ways could be found to widen public access. Greater public access does, however, require a rebalancing of how the Palace can be utilised in other ways. 'You will recall that when the Reservicing programme began, it included refurbishment of the Sovereign's private apartments which Her late Majesty had used as her London home. The Prince and Princess of Wales intend to remain at their private home, Forest Lodge in Windsor after William accedes to the throne 'Following her death, we continued to make provision for these rooms to be potential residential accommodation for Their Majesties, once they became available at the end of the Reservicing programme. 'However, I can update you that 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. ' He added: '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 will also continue as the primary workplace of the Royal Household. It will provide a modern working environment fit for the world of today and for the future, and where we embed sustainability across all our operations, in line with His Majesty's leadership.' Mr Chalmers stressed that both the King and Queen wished for the palace to remain 'the ceremonial centre of Royal life', the 'primary workplace of the royal household and a 'national heritage asset'. Another senior royal aide insisted that the public would see little difference, with the king spending most of his working day there. 'His Majesty retains huge affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect of 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.' The comments below have not been moderated. 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