Prince Charles to make Buckingham Palace residence a ‘flat above the shop’ when he is King

Prince Charles has plans to have a radical overhaul of the royal residences that are currently in use by members of the royal family. 

• Prince Charles has plans to radically change Buckingham Palace when he is King.
• The Monarch's living quarters at the iconic London residence will be reduced to a 'flat above the shop' in the style of 10 Downing Street.
• In other royal news, The Queen speaks about Prince Philip for first time since he died.

A source close to Prince Charles has revealed that the future monarch has big plans to slim down the residences that are occupied by the royal family.

Prince Charles' friend told the Mail on Sunday, that although Prince Charles will certainly live at Buckingham Palace, there will be some serious changes made to the palace.

The source said, “Despite what everybody thinks about him not wanting to live there, he will certainly have accommodation there. But it will be a much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation akin to that of the Prime Minister at Downing Street."

The source added that this is because Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are both 'practical' people but understand the importance of Buckingham Palace as the home of the King or Queen.

"Both the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall are very practical and see that the reigning Monarch must live at Buckingham Palace, otherwise it would become like Hampton Court." In comparison to other royal residences, Hampton Court is a visitor attraction instead of a working royal palace that is occupied by royals. 

The source added that as well as making changes to Buckingham Palace, the Prince will have to figure out where to house the ever-expanding royal family. 

The source said, "The central point is: when the Queen is no longer here, how do you effectively spread two generations of the family across quite a large number of properties?

The Queen has four children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. All of these royals are in the royal line of succession and may be in need of a royal residence.

The source continued, "The Prince of Wales strongly believes that these places have got to deliver something for the public beyond just being somewhere for members of the Royal Family to live. Everything is seen through the lens of the question: 'What
value is this offering to the public?'

"Everybody recognizes it makes no sense to run so many residences but if you give them up entirely you will never get them back when Prince George and the younger Royals grow up and need somewhere to live."

The source also revealed that Prince Charles has a distaste for some of the royal residences, particularly Windsor Castle which is a property favoured by the Queen.

"Charles is not keen on Windsor because it is quite noisy," the source said, "His view is that if he's heading to Windsor, he may as well carry on to Highgrove in Gloucestershire." Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall spend a lot of time at their country escape, Highgrove House. 

The source also revealed that although the Prince's current London residence is Clarence House, the Prince is not particularly fond of this property. 

"No one is terribly fond of Clarence House because it's still seen very much as the Queen Mother's place," said the source.

The source also revealed, that when it comes to Balmoral Castle, the Prince of Wales is considering turning the Scottish Castle into a museum. The source revealed, "The talk is of opening a museum paying tribute to the Queen."