Despite having been in the royal family since 1761 – when George III bought it for his wife, Queen Charlotte, the first royal to actually move in to Buckingham Palace, in 1837, was Queen Victoria.
With 775 rooms you’d think the entire royal family would be taking up residence there, but the truth is only a select few get to bunk down at the palatial mansion.
Where does the Queen live now?
With the Palace about to undergo a 10-year renovation, many of the apartments and offices are being vacated (even the Queen will be moving) but it will still be open to the public during British summertime and for occasional tours in December, January and at Easter.
Buckingham Palace has more staff than it does tenants
There are 52 royal and guest residences and 188 staff bedrooms, so anyone who does have the pleasure of staying overnight will literally be waited on hand and foot.
But the question of where do the royals live isn’t as simple as ‘at Buckingham Palace’.
The Queen and Prince Philip
The Queen of England and Prince Philip live at Buckingham Palace but its not their day to day residence. The Queen has weekly meetings at the Palace and when she’s not there you’ll fin her at Balmoral or Sandringham, two of her private residences.
You’ll know when Her Majesty is home because the Royal Standard (flag) will be raised.
Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne
Three out of four of the Queen’s children have apartments in Buckingham Palace but like most, they also live elsewhere.
The Palace which was once known as Buckingham House has 92 offices and is the offical office of the monarchy.
Princess Anne and Prince Edward have offices in the East Wing of the building, but with a $482million renovation just started, the royal siblings have been asked to temporarily vacate.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Prince William and Kate Middleton live with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis in apartment 1A in Kensington Palace. Before his wedding to Kate, Prince William had an apartment within Clarence House, London.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle currently reside at Nottingham Cottage within the grounds of Kensington Palace but as they await the arrival of their first child, the recently wed couple are due to move into Frogmore Cottage, Windsor in early 2019.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall
Prince Charles and Camilla have a few royal places to rest their heads. Clarence House in London is their official residence but they also spend time in Highgrove House, Gloucestershire and Birkhall which is the late Queen Mother’s former home on the Balmoral estate in Scotland.
Who will live at Buckingham Palace when the Queen dies?
When Queen Elizabeth II passes it’s assumed that Prince Charles (who’ll then be King Charles) will move into Buckingham Palace. But a royal expert says Charles will want to stay at Clarence House where he’s lived for the past 15 years with Camilla.
“Clarence House has been Charles and Camilla’s home for 15 years now. They have made it homely and are comfortable. Who wants to move from their perfect home, especially at their time of life?” said Charles Proctor, editor of Royal Central.
Either way, Buckingham Palace will remain the centrepiece of the UK’s constitutional monarchy.
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