King Charles III inherited Buckingham Palace when he took over from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, but even if he wanted to, he can never sell the grand London building and here's why…
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The royal is forbidden from selling up because he doesn't even own it, as the 775-room royal residence technically belongs to the Crown Estate, and not the King himself. The Crown Estate website explains: "The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch 'in right of The Crown', that is, it is owned by the monarch for the duration of their reign, by virtue of their accession to the throne.
"But it is not the private property of the monarch - it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the monarch."
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So, who owns the Crown Estate? It is not a governmental organisation, but an independent company andThe Treasury is one of the key stakeholders.
It was reported by The Daily Mail that the Queen will never return to live at the palace properly, and it has been widely reported that the monarch never actually wanted to live there in the first place.
© Photo: Getty ImagesHer Majesty didn't want to live at the palace
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As documented by royal biographer Penny Junor in her book The Firm, the Queen wanted to remain living at Clarence House after her father's death, but it was Sir Winston Churchill who pushed the move to Buckingham Palace.
It reads: "None of them wanted to go. They loved Clarence House; it was a family home, but Winston Churchill, who was then Prime Minister, insisted upon it."
© Photo: Getty ImagesBalmoral Castle is one of the Queen's privately owned homes
The Queen's unhappiness with moving from her first marital home to Buckingham Palace was also depicted in the Netflix show, The Crown.
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Her Majesty may have regal homes up and down the country, but she actually only owns two of them privately, and that's Sandringham House where she stays at Christmas time and Balmoral Castle which is used for family summer holidays.
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