Charles ‘won’t move into Buckingham Palace for five years due to £369m refurbishment’
King Charles will reportedly be stopped from moving into Buckingham Palace for five years due to its £369 million renovation.
His Majesty, 73, and Queen Consort Camilla, 75, are instead set to be based 400 yards away at Clarence House for three days a week and Windsor Castle for two – with weekends spent at Sandringham, Norfolk, according to The Sun.
A source told the publication on Friday (14.10.22) about Charles’ palace move being delayed: “Refurbishment is very far behind schedule but the Monarch should be living at Buckingham Palace.
“It’s the heart of the monarchy in London, otherwise it risks becoming just a tourist attraction. We effectively have a king without a palace to live in.”
Workers are only halfway through a 10-year refurbishment of the palace, which will include fitting new electrics, plumbing and heating, and which will render it uninhabitable until 2027.
Charles is said to be planning to host his family Christmas at Sandringham, which a source told The Sun he considers a “sort of retreat when needed”.
They added it will be especially needed during “the difficult Christmas this year” as the royals continue to mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth, who died on September 8 aged 96 at her Balmoral estate home.
Meanwhile, Charles’ coronation date has been announced as May 6 next year, almost 70 years after the Queen was crowned in June 1953.
Charles is said to be aiming for a slimmed-down coronation compared with his late mother’s.
It has been reported his ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, will last just over an hour, have fewer rituals and be more diverse than the ceremony in which the Queen was crowned.
The Mail on Sunday reported plans for Charles’ coronation are contained in a blueprint called Operation Golden Orb, which is said to include plans to cut back the ceremony in recognition of the cost of living crisis plaguing Britain.
A source told the publication: “The King has stripped back a lot of the Coronation in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years.”
The publication also reported the guest list for the event will be slashed from 8,000 to 2,000, with “hundreds of nobles and parliamentarians missing out”.
The late Queen was crowned 16 months after she became monarch, though the official ceremony is usually held within a year of a royal’s accession to the throne.
Her coronation cost £1.57 million – the equivalent of £46million today – with more than 8,000 guests representing 129 nations travelling to Westminster Abbey for the event, which was so full VIPs were forced to sit on makeshift benches.
