King Charles planning to ask more royals to vacate London homes; here's why
2 min read 25 Mar 2023, 03:38 PM ISTKing Charles planning to ask more royals to vacate London homes; here's why
PremiumKing Charles is reportedly planning to ask more royals to vacate their London homes, a report by Express has said. This comes as King plan to rent out the houses.
"Properties will be let at commercial rates going forward and to people outside the family. Where it is in a palace environment they will of course be security vetted," source told the Evening Standard. However, it is not stated as which royals or which London residences were were at risk.
But are Royal homes put on rent? Yes, some royal residences can be rented for wedding or even holiday purposes. Royal homes like the Balmoral Castle in Scotland which has many cottage options can be rented if not used by the Royals. Other castles like Castle of Mey, Llwynywermod Estate, Osborne House can be rented for wedding or stay purposes.
Currently, a number of members of the royal family and extended families live at Kensington Palace or the St James's Palace in Westminster, a report by Express said. King Charles elder Sister Princess Anne, uses St James's Palace as her official London residence when in London. Princess Beatrice, who is the eldest daughter of Charles younger brother Prince Andrew also lives in St James's Palace with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzie and daughter Sienna Elizabeth. On the other hand, Kensington Palace is also home to a larger number of royals including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
This move comes as King Charles is planning to carry out a major change in the monarchy. Report by Evening standard said that another major change also includes that more members of the royal family will have to fund and fend for themselves as King Charles is keen to reduce the financial dependence of number of royals on the crown, especially they do not have an active role to play.
This could have been another reason to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle loosing their Frogmore cottage gifted by Queen Elizabeth II. Local media reports indicate Frogmore Cottage has now been offered to Prince Andrew - King Charles III's disgraced brother. According to reports, the couple were asked to vacate the cottage in January – soon after the publication of ‘Spare’. The move was reportedly sanctioned by King Charles.
Coming back to plans by King Charles, the report added, the subsidised rents for royals, even for some working royals will also be eradicated over time. It stated that the King is expecting them to finance their own homes over the next five years. “The King is not some sort of housing association for distant relatives," another source was quoted by the Evening Standard.
“A lot of practices that have evolved during the last reign will be changing. The King is not heartless or reckless, but if the family members are not part of the core family and not working for the crown, it is fair for them to house themselves and fund themselves," a senior figure said as quoted by the Evening Standard. The King aims to making the monarchy “fit for purpose" over the next five years and he is working closely with his son Prince of Wales and Queen Consort on this. The report stated that King also aims to pay his staff competitive salaries and pensions so that he gets the best people onboard.
