December's Buckingham Palace State Visit Will Be the Last of Its ...

As the palace “undergoes one of the biggest upheavals in its history,” major changes will be afoot for “monarchy HQ” as far out as 2027

(Photo: Jimmy Harris/flickr) Exterior of Buckingham Palace

As Buckingham Palace continues to undergo a $463 million renovation, this means there won’t be any state visits there until 2027.

According to The Times, Windsor Castle will host dignitaries for the next three years as Buckingham Palace “undergoes one of the biggest upheavals in its history.” December’s state visit by the Emir of Qatar will be the last state visit at Buckingham Palace before the major change goes into effect.

Related: Prep Those Tiaras! King Charles and Queen Camilla Set to Host Second State Visit of the Year

(Photo: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images) Buckingham Palace

Work on the 775-room palace has also forced King Charles to move out of his private office space in the north wing — which was previously his mother Queen Elizabeth’s private apartment. The King, 76, has now moved his office, meeting rooms and dining area — where he takes his afternoon tea daily — to the Belgian Suite on the ground floor of the west-facing Garden Wing of the Palace. The suite of rooms he’s using also includes the Orleans Room, the room where he was born in 1948, The Times reported.

“He is always aware of the significance of history, and the decision to be based in the Orleans Room won’t have been taken without half a smile,” a friend of Charles told The Times. “The King will enjoy the symmetry of discharging his duties as monarch in the room where he was born.”

Charles has decided to personally fund the redecoration of his private suite of rooms in the north wing, which also won’t be ready until 2027. The rest of the palace’s ongoing 10-year refurbishment is funded by the taxpayer, but a source speaking to The Times said Charles is “mindful that the public purse should not pay for personal touches.”

Though the King will continue to use Buckingham Palace as “monarchy HQ” in the future, it’s doubtful that King Charles and Queen Camilla, 77, will move to Buckingham Palace in 2027 once the renovations are complete. Unlike Queen Elizabeth, King Charles has never lived in the palace during his reign, instead living with Queen Camilla at Clarence House, their longtime home in London. According to The Times, while courtiers used to insist that the King and Queen would definitely move from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace after the refurbishment was finished, royal sources now tell the outlet that his private rooms will be redecorated only for “potential residential occupation.”

Sources who know Charles and Camilla said they are both “very comfortable” at Clarence House, which is a short walk from Buckingham Palace. “I know he is no fan of ‘the big house,’ as he calls the palace,” a source told The Times. “He doesn’t see it as a viable future home or a house that’s fit for purpose in the modern world.”

Another source added, “It is certainly true that Camilla doesn’t want to live at Buckingham Palace,” and The Times reports that Prince William, the heir to the throne, “agrees that the palace is not suitable for modern family life.”

Queen Elizabeth used Buckingham Palace as her primary residence throughout her reign until March 2020, when she relocated to Windsor Castle amid COVID-19 lockdowns. Prior to the present, the palace had served as the official London residence of British monarchs as far back as 1837.

“This is the gradual shifting of monarchy,” a friend of the King’s told The Times. “There was a time when people said, ‘If the [late] Queen doesn’t live at Buckingham Palace, then what’s the point of Buckingham Palace?’ ”

After next month’s Qatar state visit, all similar visits will take place at Windsor Castle until the latter half of 2027. The last state visit to take place at Windsor Castle was by Irish president Michael D. Higgins in 2014.

The King and Queen will continue to host smaller receptions at Buckingham Palace in the Picture Gallery and other state rooms for some of 2025, but those rooms will also close next year. Afterwards, all royal receptions will move to St. James’s Palace or Windsor Castle until the palace fully reopens in 2027.

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Building work will temporarily pause during summer months to allow for the traditional opening of state rooms to the public, and palace tour offerings continue to expand — this year’s summer opening included access to the palace’s East Wing for the first time since it was built 175 years ago. The change drew a record 605,190 paying visitors, the highest number since summer opening began in 1993. The King plans to open access to more of the palace as part of his “determination to improve and encourage public access to Buckingham Palace while retaining its central role as the operational HQ for the monarchy,” a palace source said, per The Times.