The major change Queen Camilla wants at 775-room home amid ‘complete overhaul’

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s unbelievably luxurious 775-room home in Buckingham Palace has its fair share of magnificent features. With the current set of renovations, which is costing them £369 million, the building’s infrastructure is getting a “complete overhaul” and modernisation”, according to a press statement from the palace. The works have already had a rather significant impact on the King and Queen, as they were due to move into the palace but now will not be able to until at least 2027. However, there’s still one additional major change that Queen Camilla wants to make to the palace.

The Queen Consort, ever the bookish royal, is hoping to build a library in Buckingham Palace, which is the only residence that does not yet have one. According to a report in Daily Mail, she has made an effort not to get too involved in the royal infrastructure, generally including houses and gardens, but her passion for books has driven her to break her own rule.

Buckingham Palace has not had a library ever since King George IV donated the King’s Library in the residence to the British Museum ahead of a major set of redesigns for the property. Other than the offices of the late Prince Philip, books are sparse in the palace, according to Daily Mail. A source shared with the publication that Queen Camilla is simply trying to see if it would be possible at this stage. 

A ‘nail in the coffin’ for Buckingham Palace

Though King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to move back into the property once the renovations are complete, it seems that his son, Prince William, and Princess Kate will break the family’s tradition of living there, potentially making the current monarch the last to live in Buckingham Palace. The couple, alongside their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, will move to Forest Lodge, later this year, and it seems that the Windsor property may be the family’s “forever home”. 

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Danielle Stacey, HELLO!‘s Online Royal Correspondent, explained: “The Prince and Princess of Wales clearly love living in Windsor, the children are settled at Lambrook School nearby, and they will still be close to Windsor Castle for royal functions and engagements. Upsizing to Forest Lodge allows the family more space and has already been viewed as their ‘forever home’, rather than having the children growing up within the walls of a palace.”