General Discussion about Royal Residences 2: Sep 2022 -

[muriel]

Is there any necessity for Charles to actually have an actual residence at Windsor Castle? One of the simplest ways of reducing his number of residences is probably not to acquire new ones.

Both are owned by the reigning monarch in right of the Crown. The question was in relation to the exceedingly large number of residences which Charles now has the use of.

I actually think Windsor gets used quite a lot, especially at the current time when BP is being renovated, so I think C&C will continue to use it.

A lot of entertaining of visiting dignitaries and public luminaries takes place there. QE2 often used to hold dinner, bed & breakfast events, where guests were invited to dine and stay overnight at the palace. This allowed HM to engage with members of the British (and overseas) populace in a smaller, more intimate setting, and understand their perspectives. A lot of this is not necessarily made public.

I think we will see Sandringham and Balmoral Castle opened up to the public a lot more than they currently are. In effect, that will mean the following:

BP / Clarence House: C&C
Highgrove, Birkhall: C&C
Windsor: C&C and increasingly, the Wales family
KP, Anmer: Wales'

Personally, I would like to see the Wales' move into a part of Windsor Castle on a full time basis.

 

[Iluvbertie]

How much more can Sandringham House be opened. It is opened every day when the monarch isn't in residence and the grounds 365 days a year (366 in a leap year).

Charles will spend more time at Balmoral than the late Queen, although I think he will continue to live at Birkhall so the castle itself could be opened 365 as no one will stay there. I have heard that the late Queen wanted her children and grandchildren to still be able to stay there but I am not sure Charles will allow that.

 

[muriel]

How much more can Sandringham House be opened. It is opened every day when the monarch isn't in residence and the grounds 365 days a year (366 in a leap year).

I should clarify that I meant that more of Sandringham House could potentially be opened up to the paying public than the very few rooms that currently are.

Charles will spend more time at Balmoral than the late Queen, although I think he will continue to live at Birkhall so the castle itself could be opened 365 as no one will stay there. I have heard that the late Queen wanted her children and grandchildren to still be able to stay there but I am not sure Charles will allow that.

I agree that Charles will just continue to use Birkhall, as he has for the last c20years.

It will be interesting to see if the family retreats completely from the castle, using other properties on the Balmoral estate for their trips. The main tourist season in the Highlands of July and August coincides with the time the larger family is probably most likely to use the castle.

 

[Stefan]

What i think could also be an Issue with Balmoral opening up more is that it seems nearly impossible to reach with public Transport. Had once looked for it and it was very difficult if at all. So Visitors need either to come with organized Travels or with their own Car.

 

[FigTree]

What i think could also be an Issue with Balmoral opening up more is that it seems nearly impossible to reach with public Transport. Had once looked for it and it was very difficult if at all. So Visitors need either to come with organized Travels or with their own Car.

Yea plus it is highly unlikely you'd go up there just to see it. So as a tourist destination it al.ost isn't worth it. The house itself would need quite a bit of work to be opened to the public and it wouldn't necessarily pay off.

The area Sandringham is in is very popular with tourists.

Ithink with thr exception of BH opened permanently - which would make money. We are not likwly to see much change.

 

[An Ard Ri]

What i think could also be an Issue with Balmoral opening up more is that it seems nearly impossible to reach with public Transport. Had once looked for it and it was very difficult if at all. So Visitors need either to come with organized Travels or with their own Car.

Which wouldn't be at all good for the environment or this scenic area either.

 

[Curryong]

And as I stated in a previous post, would there be lots of tourists, even Scots, flocking to see the actual castle, let alone the grounds, between the months of say Oct and April/May? I’m afraid I still see this old and quite large building becoming quite the white elephant in the next few decades, especially as it still has to be maintained, which will not be cheap.

 

[muriel]

And as I stated in a previous post, would there be lots of tourists, even Scots, flocking to see the actual castle, let alone the grounds, between the months of say Oct and April/May. I’m afraid I still see this old and quite large building becoming quite the white elephant in the next few decades, especially as it still has to be maintained, which will not be cheap.

I agree the costs of updating the castle to live in will be substantial. If it isn't lived in, the nature of ongoing maintenance is very different, and it is possible the income from the rest of the Balmoral estate will be enough to cover it.

 

[An Ard Ri]

And as I stated in a previous post, would there be lots of tourists, even Scots, flocking to see the actual castle, let alone the grounds, between the months of say Oct and April/May? I’m afraid I still see this old and quite large building becoming quite the white elephant in the next few decades, especially as it still has to be maintained, which will not be cheap.

I'd imagine the upkeep costs are staggering and will no doubt raise eyebrows as its only used for a month or two at most!

 

[Hallo girl]

I'd imagine the upkeep costs are staggering and will no doubt raise eyebrows as its only used for a month or two at most!

First of all it is owned by the King so any expenses would be his, not the tax payer. If it was opened to the public the various tour companies could add it to their itinerary so would be visited. I think we need to give the King time to look at all the options for lots of places/ or problems, he has had a busy emotional time in the last 9 months, IMO people have expected a lot to happen really quickly.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Balmoral too with its sad association with the passing of the late queen will add to its general attraction as a visitors site.

 

[Granada]

I could definitely see Balmoral opened up to the Public in Spring and Fall months. Perhaps keep it for the core Family members Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward and their kids and grandkids to enjoy privately in July and August.

One of my loveliest trips last Sept was a day trip to the Isle of Wight and Osborne House. We were over from the States visiting The UK.
WHAT A DAY ! We took a hovercraft over from Portsmouth and spend the day there. Osborne was magnificent. The House, the Grounds, The History !
I could have spent hours in the gift shop alone !


If Balmoral ever opens to the Public, I'M IN .....LOL. Personally, not much interest for me with Sandringham though.

 

[Kaye1850]

…… I think we need to give the King time to look at all the options for lots of places/ or problems, he has had a busy emotional time in the last 9 months, IMO people have expected a lot to happen really quickly.

This might be because of all the time he spent as ‘monarch in waiting.’ Some may think he spent those years planning and laying out plans for his reign. How often have we heard about his slimmed down RF?

 

[royal-blue]

Charles probably considers himself to have 3 actual homes: Clarence House, Highgrove and Birkhall. The others are just places he stays at various times throughout the year.

 

[tommy100]

8 rooms at Sandringham are open to the public, I was quite surprised it was that many tbh. It is still a family home and they obviously aren't going to be comfortable letting people traipse into the bedrooms and more intimate rooms. I think 8 rooms is pretty good, I mean its not Chatsworth House size with all that many more to open.

I think for Sandringham the question is maximising opportunities in the time the RF aren't there and on the wider estate.

I do think maybe Balmoral could be opened up more, I believe the only room visitors enter is the ballroom. It will always face the challenge that as the RF's summer residence it is closed at the most popular time of year so unless they do decide not to allow the family to use it anymore or find a way to house the family on the wider estate over the summer there is no easy fix to that.


I agree that Charles likely thinks of CH, Birkhall and Highgrove as his only true homes in one sense. He problem is now he s King they all serve a purpose that other properties do as well.

CH - Buckingham Palace
Birkhall - Balmoral
Highgrove - Windsor and Sandringham (country estates)

 

[royal-blue]

When the Sussexes stepped down as working royals, obviously they were living at Frogmore Cottage. What happened to their cottage at Kensington Palace?

 

[FigTree]

When the Sussexes stepped down as working royals, obviously they were living at Frogmore Cottage. What happened to their cottage at Kensington Palace?

Rented out to someone else I would expect. Staff or whatever. An awful lot of homes in Kensington. Didn’t Harry have a one bed flat at one point.

 

[tommy100]

They moved out of Nottingham Cottage when they moved into Frogmore as I understand it. (Frogmore is about an hour from BP in traffic, 45 mins on a good run)

The last thing I hear about Nottingham Cottage was rumours Beatrice and Edo may move in after their wedding but that seems unlikely given Beatrice had an apartment at St James at the time I doubt they moved from that 4/5 bedroom apartment to Nottingham Cottage. The fact we haven't heard of another royal moving in (and indeed I can't think of any royals who would need to move in) suggests it has reverted to being rented out to staff or even commercially as some apartments at KP are (I doubt it personally as its close to Wren House, the Gloucester's new digs and Ivy cottage that was used by Eugenie)

 

[royal-blue]

If they were still working royals under the new monarch, surely the Sussexes would have been given a second residence by now?

 

[Somebody]

If they were still working royals under the new monarch, surely the Sussexes would have been given a second residence by now?

Why would they have needed a second residency? A place to stay overnight in London is what Anne and Edward have next to a house in the country, so I'd think that would suffice for other royals as well.

 

[tommy100]

They could certainly have purchased their own house, maybe they may have bought somewhere in the Cotswolds like the place they were renting. But I think from the late Queen's view they were amply provided for, more so than her other grandchildren as befitted their working royal status. If they wanted / needed another residence I think the expectation would have been that like Zara, Peter etc they would have had to finance it privately.

 

[royal-blue]

Why would they have needed a second residency? A place to stay overnight in London is what Anne and Edward have next to a house in the country, so I'd think that would suffice for other royals as well.

I was under the impression that they had Frogmore Cottage and also their cottage at KP at the same time though this appears not to be the case.

 

[tommy100]

I think it was said rooms would be available at BP if they needed to stay in London overnight which is why I for one assumed Notts Cottage was no longer theirs when they moved to Frogmore.

 

[tommy100]

The Royal Family financial report confirms:

"virtually no one is living at BP" with staff staying the odd night when needed

Charles and Camilla plan on living there when the work is complete in a few years

The lease on Frogmore Cottage is no more

 

[Curryong]

Yes, Frogmore Cottage has been left idle and empty, just as it was when the Sussexes had a lease/were gifted it as a wedding present. And then paid the three million expenses back. An empty cottage used by nobody.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I thought I read that Eugenie and Jack had moved into Frogmore?

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I was under the impression that they had Frogmore Cottage and also their cottage at KP at the same time though this appears not to be the case.

They no longer needed the cottage at KP because it was just a starter home and it wouldn’t have been spacious to accommodate their growing family.

 

[Granada]

Once the housing situation is one way or another worked out with Andrew, I expect Frogmore will find new tenants.
I think Charles wanted Andrew and Fergie out of Royal Lodge, but didn't count on Andrews implacable resistance. Plus now with Sarah's breast cancer diagnosis, that is another factor.

My bet is Andrew stays there. I don't believe for one minute QEll (or Philip) didn't leave their children substantial money. Enough for Andrew to maintain Royal Lodge and his "lifestyle"..... although he never seems to do anything except ride in Windsor Great Park. No vacations abroad to Europe, even. For a man that traveled extensively, maybe he prefers this life now, due to his notoriety, and enjoy the grandkids.

Perhaps Frogmore will wind up similar to Anmer Hall, on The Sandringham Estate, now William and Kate's Country House. Anmer had been leased out for decades to different close friends like the Van Custem Family or The Duke of Kent.

I'm sure over the next year Frogmore Cottage will have new tenants.

 

[tommy100]

For no reason other than laughs I'd love Zara and Mike (maybe together with Peter) to lease Frogmore so the children gets lots of time together. Obvs unlikely to happen but would make my day.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

For no reason other than laughs I'd love Zara and Mike (maybe together with Peter) to lease Frogmore so the children gets lots of time together. Obvs unlikely to happen but would make my day.

I get that you’re joking but it wouldn’t be necessary for them to do that, Zara and Peter already have a place to stay and I’m sure their children meet up when possible.