King Charles will continue living at Clarence House when Buckingham Palace’s £369 million refurbishment ends next year, royal officials said. The same briefing also disclosed his £12.9 million tax bill for 2024/25 and mapped future changes to the Sovereign Gra
When Buckingham Palace’s long refurbishment began in 2017, officials had expected the palace would remain the British monarch’s main London home. Next year, that plan ends.
Royal officials said on Thursday that King Charles will not live at Buckingham Palace after the 10-year refit finishes. Instead. he will keep living at Clarence House. his longstanding London home nearby. once work concludes on the £369 million project that includes replacing ageing electrical wiring. pipes and heating.
The king’s treasurer and keeper of the privy purse. James Chalmers. framed the shift as a change in residence. not in role. He said Buckingham Palace would remain the monarchy HQ and a central setting for ceremonial and official functions. including receiving foreign dignitaries. “It 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. ” he told reporters.
Nearly two centuries of the palace serving as the monarch’s primary residence will therefore come to a close. Officials also said the king will maintain private rooms at Buckingham Palace that could be used as accommodation. even as the main overnight living arrangement stays at Clarence House. Neither Charles nor the late Queen Elizabeth had stayed overnight at the palace since 2019.
Chalmers added that public access to the building would increase, with some 700,000 people visiting every year, but he did not provide details on what that would look like.
The briefing came with another development: fresh, first-time disclosure of the king’s tax for 2024/25. Officials said Charles paid £12.9 million (about $17.04 million) in tax in 2024/25, placing him among Britain’s top 100 taxpayers.
Royal transparency has become a political and public pressure point since Queen Elizabeth died in 2022. Members of the royal family have promised greater openness about their finances amid criticism.
By law, the British king is not obliged to pay income, capital gains or inheritance tax. Still, Charles—like his mother did after 1993—has voluntarily done so without previously disclosing the amounts. Chalmers also said Charles receives a private income from the Duchy of Lancaster estate. which was £25.2 million in 2025/26. along with money from other holdings and investments.
Chalmers told reporters that Charles paid £11.7 million in tax in 2023/24, and “more than £30 million” in taxes since becoming king in 2022.
The treasurer also set out how government funding is expected to evolve. Charles receives money from the government known as the Sovereign Grant, intended to pay for staff, royal palaces and travel. Officials said it will be £137.9 million in 2026/27. Chalmers said that amount will be cut for the first time in 2027/28 to £100 million “in line with his majesty’s clear wishes. ” and that it will stay at that level until 2031/32.
Chalmers described the size of the adjustment by comparison: it would be almost £60 million higher than it was in 2016 when the funding formula was changed to pay for the Buckingham Palace refit. He said it was not an open-ended payment. adding: “This is not a blank cheque. ” and that safeguards ensure the amount is proportional.
Financial transparency is not limited to the king. Officials said Prince William. heir to the throne. paid £7.76 million in tax in 2024/25 and instructed that £1.5 million in rent from a closed prison be sent to the local community. his office said. William and Charles have faced criticism that they are profiting by charging the army, health service and schools rent.
The decisions being announced now—where Charles will live. how the palace will function. and what the public is told about tax bills and funding—land at a moment of heightened scrutiny. Buckingham Palace will still carry the symbol of monarchy when the sovereign is in London. with the standard flying from the roof. But the daily reality of where the king sleeps is being moved away from the palace grounds that have long been at the center of public imagination.
And while the refurbishment ends next year, the chapter that began in the age of Queen Victoria—Buckingham Palace as the monarch’s primary London residence—will close without a return.
King Charles Buckingham Palace refurbishment Clarence House Sovereign Grant royal finances tax disclosure James Chalmers Prince William rent donation
So basically he just moves out to save money? Buckingham sounds expensive as hell.
£369 million?? For wires and pipes?? I mean I get it’s old, but come on. And then a £12.9 million tax bill like… what even.
Wait Clarence House is where he already lives right? So this is like a “change in residence not role” thing but it’s still Buckingham like the article says. Also if 700,000 people visit then maybe my cousin is gonna be there next year or something lol. Not sure.
I don’t trust any of this. They say it’s about electrical wiring and heating but it sounds like they found mold or something and are covering it up. And why does Buckingham not have him staying overnight since 2019? feels like political theater. Also £12.9 million tax bill… is that even real or did they mean something else?