By royal biographer Emily Andrews
WANT TO SEE BEHIND THE CASTLE GATES?
It’s an interesting development that King Charles has increased public access to Buckingham Palace and opened up Balmoral Castle for the first time.
Clearly his experience of running the multimillion pound Duchy of Cornwall for so long has enabled him to see how these palaces may start to pay for themselves.
This summer, small groups will pay £100 a head to see inside the late Queen’s favourite home and ‘happy place’ in the Scottish highlands.
Balmoral is a personal home of the monarch (unlike Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, which are held in trust for the nation) and so the King has to foot the running costs himself.
He already has his own personal Scottish home (Birkhall) and only uses Balmoral in the summer months for entertaining.
A source said the move was in line with the King’s wish to make royal residences more accessible to the public.
But it also reflects the suggestions made following his mother’s death, that the house had been earmarked as a place for the public to remember her.
Until now, the interior of the huge castle has remained largely out of bounds to the public – with tours limited to just the ballroom, grounds and gardens.
The month-long summer tour programme is considered a trial period, during which estate staff will assess how the historic building stands up to visitor numbers, before Charles and Camilla return in August for their traditional summer break.
Meanwhile, at Buckingham Palace, visitors will be able to tour the renovated East Wing – most famous as the ‘front’, with the famous first-floor balcony overlooking the Victoria Memorial.
Both commercial ventures will bring in extra cash – important at a time when royal finances and royal ‘worth’ are under scrutiny as never before.
Charles now has at least nine homes (including one in Transylvania!) which some may deem excessive, even for a King.
Those that are ‘personal’ (such as Highgrove in Gloucestershire or Dumfries House in east Ayrshire) are intended to be self-funding and there are many ways that revenue is raised by opening them up to the public.
In many ways, Charles’ patronage harks back to historic times – he takes a keen interest in all his tenant farmers and is an e
