Buckingham Palace Becomes 775-Room Royal Office as King Charles III Declines to Live There
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 13
Buckingham Palace Becomes 775-Room Royal Office as King Charles III Declines to Live There
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 13
Summary
Buckingham Palace is being recast as a working royal headquarters rather than the monarch’s home, a break with nearly two centuries of tradition.
King Charles III has chosen not to live in the palace despite being born there, making him the first British sovereign since Queen Victoria in 1837 to opt out of residence.
The renovated building still carries the scale and symbolism of a royal seat — 775 rooms, 78 bathrooms, priceless art and gilded interiors — but will function primarily as an office base.
That shift turns one of the world’s most recognizable palaces into a ceremonial and administrative center, underscoring Charles’s different approach to the monarchy’s use of royal property.