King Charles III plans to turn the Queen’s beloved Balmoral into a museum in honour of his late mother, palace insider says
- Charles could open his mother’s beloved Balmoral up to the public next summer
- Castle will likely carry an exhibition focussing on the Queen’s lifetime of service
- Plans part of King Charles’s determination to cut back on the excess of Royalty
- New monarch already has own retreat in North-East Scotland at nearby Birkhall
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
King Charles has plans to turn Balmoral into a museum in honour of his mother.
The private Scottish castle which was so beloved by the Queen would be ‘opened up to the public’ and is likely to carry an exhibition paying tribute to her extraordinary seven-decade reign, an insider said.
‘Looking at the number of properties and the number of working members of the Royal family, the King will be looking at the properties and asking: “What value does this give to the public?”, a source said.
An exhibition is likely to focus on the Queen’s lifetime of service and offer an opportunity to display some of the Royal jewellery collection and the outfits worn by the Queen at pivotal moments in history.
It would also honour her connection to Scotland while making good use of the grounds and maintaining staff numbers at the estate.
Charles is unlikely to require large living quarters in the Castle as he already has his own retreat in North-East Scotland at nearby Birkhall.
King Charles has plans to turn Balmoral into a museum in honour of his mother. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and their children at their beloved Scottish residence in 1960
It would also fulfil the King’s ambition of creating spaces within existing Royal buildings where people can come together. During his time as Britain’s longest-serving Prince of Wales, the King devoted time to restoring the Castle of Mey, the Caithness home of his late grandmother, the Queen Mother. A source said: ‘Now he plans to do something similar with Balmoral. But all these things are likely to take some time.’
An exhibition at Balmoral, where the Queen loved to spend her summer holidays, could be opened up to the public next summer. It would draw tens of thousands of visitors to pay a tribute to the Queen in the Highlands home where she spent her final days.
The Queen’s coffin later lay in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle where staff and friends of the late monarch were able to pay their respects.
Queen Elizabeth spent her final days at her Scottish retreat Balmoral, where she loved to spend her summer holidays
Six gamekeepers were chosen as pallbearers to transport the coffin last Sunday to a hearse waiting outside for a six-hour journey, accompanied by the Princess Royal, to Edinburgh where it rested overnight in the Palace of Holyroodhouse before a service in the Scottish capital at St Giles’ Cathedral.
The new plans for Balmoral are all part of the new King’s determination to cut back on the excess of Royalty and to foster a slimmed-down monarchy.
One of his plans is to radically reduce the number of official suites at Buckingham Palace. As one source put it, the King is most likely to adopt a ‘flat above the shop’ living arrangement instead.
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