Game of Thrones: King Charles III’s choice of royal residences
<p dir="ltr">After King Charles III was sworn in as England’s next monarch, he isn’t just assuming his late mother’s royal duties, but also ownership of her residences.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Charles has a choice of five palaces when it comes to his official home, though he doesn’t necessarily have to select just one.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If he follows in his mother’s footsteps, he could choose to travel between several locations for official duties and downtime.</p>
<p dir="ltr">"He is going to have to weigh up the cost against the importance of keeping these palaces and castles and residences truly royal by using them," a source told The Times.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With choices spanning London to Berkshire, here’s a whirlwind tour of the residences King Charles III can choose from.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Buckingham Palace, London</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Having been the official London residence for monarchs for 185 years, when Queen Victoria first took up residence there in 1837, Buckingham Palace has a lengthy history.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/buckingham-palace1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">The 775-room building is now used as the administrative headquarters, or royal office, of the monarch thanks to its 92 offices, 188 staff bedrooms, and 52 royal and guest bedrooms.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But, if Charles does want to move in, current renovations to the palace mean he’ll have to wait. The changes are estimated to cost over $700 million, with an expected completion date in 2027.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Clarence House, London</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">Located beside St James’ Palace, Clarence House has been a royal residence for slightly longer than Buckingham Palace, having been built in 1827 for Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/clarence-house.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">King Charles and Camilla, now the Queen Consort, have called Clarence House home since 2003.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Sandringham House, Norfolk</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">The 20,000-acre Norfolk property is known as the royal’s country house and has been passed down through the royal family for centuries.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">With its sprawling acreage, more than 200 people make their living from the estate, including gamekeepers, gardeners, farmers and workers at Sandringham’s sawmill.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/sandringham-house.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Sandringham House has also gone down in history as the location of Queen Elizabeth II’s first televised Christmas message.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Highgrove House, Gloucestershire</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">King Charles has used Highgrove House as his private residence since the 1980s - over 180 years after it was built.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/highgrove-house.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Before Charles lived there, the Georgian home belonged to Maurice Macmillan, the son of former British PM Maurice Macmillan.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nowadays, Highgrove House sees around 40,000 visitors walk through the estate’s expansive gardens each year.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Windsor Castle, Berkshire</strong></p>
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<p dir="ltr">With more than 1000 rooms and over 300 fireplaces, Windsor Castle has been in the royal family for 900 years.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/windsor-castle.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">But it isn’t the only building located on the property, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s residence, Frogmore Cottage.</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>
