King Charles and Queen Camilla will remain at Clarence House instead of moving into Buckingham Palace once its £369 million renovation project is completed next year.
The decision was confirmed alongside the release of the latest royal financial accounts, which also showed that the king paid £12.9 million in income and capital gains tax in 2024-25 on his personal income, known as the privy purse. Prince William paid £7.76 million over the same period.
The accounts further revealed that the core sovereign grant, the public funding used to support the monarch’s official duties, is set to rise sharply. From 2027-28, it will stand at £99.9 million, almost double the £51.8 million recorded in 2024-25.
The figure was agreed following a review by the royal trustees, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and James Chalmers, the king’s accountant and keeper of the privy purse.
Chalmers said Charles and Camilla made the decision to stay at Clarence House after “careful consideration and to greatly increase opportunities for public access”. The couple are expected to remain there for the rest of the king’s reign.
Although they will not live at Buckingham Palace, the king and queen will still have access to private rooms there during the day and for occasional overnight stays. The palace will also continue to serve as the ceremonial and operational centre of the monarchy.
“[Buckingham Palace] 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,” said Chalmers.
A royal spokesperson said it would be a “buzzing hive of royal activity in every other way”. “The palace will continue in every traditional way to be the beating heart of the monarchy, just not its resting head,” said the spokesperson.
Buckingham Palace has been used as a royal residence since Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837. It remains unclear whether Prince William plans to live there when he becomes king.
The financial disclosures also marked another notable moment for the monarchy, with Charles becoming the first monarch to publish details of his tax bill.
The accounts showed he paid £12.9 million in income and capital gains tax in 2024-25, following £11.7 million the previous year. Since becoming king, he has paid more than £30 million in tax.
Neither the monarch nor the Prince of Wales is legally required to pay tax. However, Queen Elizabeth II and Charles agreed to do so voluntarily in 1993, following public criticism over proposals for taxpayers to cover the cost of repairs after the Windsor Castle fire.
However, the level of disclosure has attracted criticism. Tax campaigner Dan Neidle described the information released as a “sideshow”, arguing that there was no real transparency because the figures could not be independently checked.
He said meaningful disclosure would require detailed accounts similar to those published by major private companies.
“The reality is that the king is completely unlike any other taxpayer, and the boundary between personal assets and crown assets is very wobbly. So it’s far from clear he should receive the same privacy.”
Graham Smith, chief executive officer of the anti-monarchy group Republic, also criticised the increase in public funding.
“Despite ongoing concerns about the huge cost of the royals, the grant will remain hugely inflated on its initial level of £31m in 2012. If that had risen by inflation the grant would stand at £45m, not £100m.
“The government agreed to spend £369m on refurbishing Buckingham Palace, and now Charles doesn’t want to use it. But he’ll keep it under lock and key for when he does. Clearly the palace needs to be fully open to the public all year round.”
At present, members of the public can visit parts of Buckingham Palace through seasonal tours of the state rooms, guided access to the East Wing, and visits to the King’s Gallery and Royal Mews.
Labour peer and former Scotland minister George Foulkes said he was “deeply worried about the amount of money being spent and the lack of transparency”.
He also suggested that publishing the king’s tax payments was a “diversionary tactic to get away from the whole question of the sovereign grant”.
“What we really need is a giant committee of both houses of the Commons and the Lords to have some supervision of this expenditure. Governments, even Labour governments, are reluctant to clamp down. It’s too much of an establishment closing ranks. It does need a more radical look.”
The accounts showed that Charles received £25.2 million from the Duchy of Lancaster’s 2025-26 profits. The duchy is a historic portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust to provide the reigning monarch with private income.
No detailed breakdown of the king’s tax bill was provided. Tax is paid only on the duchy surplus after official expenses, which include costs linked to other working royals and duties not covered by the sovereign grant.
The king also pays tax on private capital gains from assets including Balmoral, Sandringham, investments and personal savings.
The sovereign grant is linked to Crown Estate profits from two years earlier. The Treasury confirmed it will be fixed at 20.5% for five years from 2027-28, amounting to £99.9 million in the first year of that period.
The Crown Estate operates as an independent property and land business required to act in the national interest.
The financial documents also revealed that Prince William will no longer personally benefit from the £1.5 million annual rent generated by the abandoned Dartmoor prison.
From 2026-27, he has asked for the money to be removed from the Duchy of Cornwall, the private estate traditionally held by the monarch’s eldest son. The funds will instead be used to support regeneration in Princetown, the rural community beside the prison.
