The Emir of Qatar's visit next December will be his last before a period of more than three years at Buckingham Palace. Likewise, Charles III and Queen Camilla will have to stay temporarily at Clarence House.
Buckingham Palace is getting a makeover. The famous place of residence of royalty will undergo major works which will force the royal couple to move, until the majority of these are completed. Official visits will also no longer be possible.
In total, the project, which is not visible from the outside but only concerns the interior of the building, will last ten years. For the first three years, until mid-2027, Charles and Camilla will no longer be able to live there and will not be able to receive official visits. However, some rooms will remain available for smaller visits.
In 2025, receptions will be relocated to St James' Palace or Windsor Castle, while the couple will live at Clarence House. The work, which will last ten years in total, will cost around 440 million euros.
“The People’s Palace”
The objective behind this work is to replace more than 305 km of cables and 40,000 floorboards. King Charles wants to make the place accessible to the public as quickly as possible, and these works are conditions for opening the place to outside visitors. Once the construction site is completed, Charles III wants to hold “parties in the gardens, visits and evenings in the summer”, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The gardens will also undergo renovations, where many cherry and birch trees have been removed to promote natural light and encourage regenerative growth of other plants.
