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

No British monarch will ever live in Buckingham Palace again, despite a £369 million taxpayer-funded renovation of the historic royal residence.

It was confirmed on Thursday that the King and Queen will not move into the monarch’s official residence in London even if the decade-long renovation is completed next year.

Charles and Camilla will instead reside permanently at Clarence House, opposite The Mall.

Prince William has already announced that he and his wife, the Princess of Wales, plan to stay at their private home, Forest Lodge, in Windsor, when she eventually inherits the throne; This means that the next ruler will not reside in the capital.

The historic royal residence, first occupied by Queen Victoria in 1837, will open its doors more to the public each year in a bid to generate revenue and become less of a burden on taxpayers.

Royal aides yesterday insisted the building would remain a ‘living hive’ of ‘Headquarters of the Monarchy’, where meetings, receptions, ceremonies, audiences, state visits and garden parties are still held there.

The apparatus of the Royal Household will also remain in place; The only difference is that the King, who will come to meetings every day while in London, will sleep next door.

Queen Camilla and King Charles III watch the RAF pass by from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after participating in Trooping The Color 2026

Members of Royal Collection Trust staff tend to the chandelier in the East Wing of Buckingham Palace

‘It will remain the Crown Jewel of our national buildings,’ a senior royal aide insisted.

But the move will inevitably lead to concerns among some that without a monarch in daily residence, the palace will lose its ‘heart and soul’, lose its international reputation and become just another glorified office block.

The historic revelation comes as Buckingham Palace opens its books for its annual financial review, which they promise will be more ‘transparent’ than ever this year.

It showed:

• King Charles personally paid £12.9 million in tax in 2024/25 and has voluntarily paid more than £30 million since he came to the throne. He is the first ruler in history to publish the tax law.
• It also revealed that for the first time since becoming Prince of Wales, Prince William had voluntarily paid £7.7 million in personal income tax and capital gains to HMRC.
• The heir to the throne also demanded more than £500,000 in rent from his father last year for William to continue using his Gloucestershire home, Highgrove, which he now owns through the Duchy of Cornwall.
• The monarchy’s main funding is to raise £100 million a year (nearly doubling in three years) to fund the backlog of maintaining occupied royal palaces, strengthening cybersecurity at royal residences and installing energy-saving heating systems.
• But royal aides insisted they were not receiving a “blank cheque” from taxpayers and stressed that the monarchy offers good value for money and public services, with funding remaining stable for the next five years.

The change to royal living arrangements was announced on Thursday by James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, who said it came after careful consideration by Her Majesty and her advisors.

The monarch has long sought to open Buckingham Palace to the public so that it can finance itself.

Towards the end of her reign, Queen Elizabeth, who made no secret of her antipathy towards living ‘above the shop’, stayed at the palace only once or twice a week, preferring to stay at Windsor Castle, which she admired.

The Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace photographed during renovation

Members of the Royal Family wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Colours 2026

The Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace photographed after renovations were completed

He last stayed there for one night on March 18, 2020, before heading to Berkshire; He remained there throughout the Covid pandemic and never returned as ongoing construction made his private room suite uninhabitable.

Renovations were sorely needed, given that much of the palace had been left untouched since the Second World War, with some parts crumbling dangerously close to the ears. Considering his age, his private rooms were left until the end.

At the time, royal aides insisted that a monarch would return to the historic seat of power once the decade-long construction work was completed.

But recent years have seen these assurances shaken, with officials saying it was ‘intended’ for a monarch to take up residence again.

While the decision was largely driven by the King’s personal determination to open up royal residences more to the public and ease the burden on taxpayers, there is no doubt he also feels more comfortable at ‘plain’ neighbor Clarence House, where he has lived since 2003.

He is now 77 years old and was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. He is still receiving treatment but doctors are said to be pleased with his progress.

Summing up the decision, Mr Chalmers said: ‘The aim of the reservation project was, of course, to undertake the necessary works to prevent an iconic national building from being damaged by catastrophic fire and flood and to make it fit for purpose as the center of national life for future generations.

‘In doing so, it has always been our ambition to ensure that new or improved ways can be found to expand public access. But greater public access requires a rebalancing of how the Palace can be used in other ways.

‘You may recall that when the booking program began it included the refurbishment of the Sovereign’s private apartments, which Her late Majesty used as her London home.

The Prince and Princess of Wales plan to stay at their private home, Forest Lodge, in Windsor, after William’s accession to the throne

‘Following her death, we continued to prepare for these rooms to be potential accommodation for Her Majesty when they became available at the end of the booking programme.

‘However, after careful consideration and in order to greatly increase public access opportunities, I can inform you that 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.

‘However, Their Royal Highnesses will have access to private rooms within the Palace where they can retire for a working day and could be used as potential accommodation in the coming times. ‘

He added: ‘This is both a change from the past and a recognition of the future.

‘But let me be clear that Buckingham Palace will remain, in all other respects, both the ceremonial and operational center of Royal life.

It is and remains the Headquarters of the Monarchy, the Crown Jewel of our national buildings; When Her Majesty is in London, the Sovereign’s banner flies proudly from the roof, just as it has since Accession.

‘The Palace will also remain the primary workplace of the Royal Household. ‘It will provide a modern working environment suitable for the world of today and the future, where we integrate sustainability into all our operations in line with His Majesty’s leadership.’

Mr Chalmers stressed that both the King and Queen wanted the palace to remain the ‘ceremonial center of Royal life’, the ‘primary workplace of the royal family’ and a ‘national heritage asset’.

Another senior royal aide stressed that the public would not notice much of a difference because the king spends most of his working day there.

‘Her Majesty has a great affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect for its role in royal and public life.

‘This will remain a workhouse but we are seeking to expand public access to fully maximize the national benefit of a publicly funded building.’