King Charles wants to turn Balmoral into public memorial to the Queen by opening it up further to visitors
- Charles wants to make royal residences more accessible to members of public
- He wants to make Balmoral somewhere people can reflect on the Queen’s life
- Under King’s plans, public could visit Scottish residence while he is staying there
- It will feature exhibitions and a permanent space to honour the Queen’s legacy
- The Queen spent her final days at Balmoral before she passed on September 8
King Charles is hoping to turn Balmoral into a public memorial to the Queen by opening it up further to visitors for more of the year.
The Scottish home, where the Queen spent her final days before her death on September 8, will feature exhibitions with a permanent space to honour the late monarch’s legacy.
In fact, under the new plans, King Charles would even allow members of the public to visit while he is staying there, the Telegraph reports.
Although Charles will not be using Balmoral as his man Scottish residents, he hopes to make the privately owned estate – along with other royal residences – more accessible to the public so they can reflect on his mother’s life.
The King prefers the neighbouring Birkhall on the Estate which he inherited following the death of his grandmother. He and the Queen Consort Camilla also spent their honeymoon here.
The Queen had spent her final summer at Balmoral – an annual tradition of the Royal Family during her reign.
King Charles is hoping to turn Balmoral into a public memorial to the Queen by opening it up to more visitors for more of the year. Her Majesty spent her final summer at the Scottish residence, where her last official picture was taken before she met with incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss
The royals are expected to continue this tradition of venturing to the Aberdeenshire estate during summer at which point Balmoral would temporarily close to the public.
In recent years, the beautiful estate – thought to be the Queen’s favourite residence – has only been open from April to July.
But it will be open to the public from October to December with no fees and no guided tours to the castle itself ‘as a mark of respect’ to Her Majesty.
A spokesman said: ‘Visitors will be able to visit the grounds and gardens, where they can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this special place and pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.’
The King has previously enjoyed welcoming visitors to private homes and hopes to emulate the success of Dumfries House, in Scotland, where he is often found working above the front door while tourists explore.
The King prefers the neighbouring Birkhall to Balmoral which he inherited following the death of his grandmother. He and the Queen Consort Camilla also spent their honeymoon here. Pictured: The King and Queen Consort pictured in the Birkhall gardens last year
Dumfries – a stunning 18th century house set over 2,000 acres – has been owned by the Prince’s Foundation since 2007.
The King is also known to spend a lot of time at Highgrove, Gloucestershire where again members of the public can look around the gardens while he is there.
However, Camilla is said to be less attached to the Gloucestershire home. According to her biographer Penny Junor, she would ‘not be sad to see Highgrove go . . . It is Diana’s house. It is not hers.’
Sources have said that ‘legacy and celebrating the Queen’ will be one of the King’s key principles as he searches for the best way to use his private homes and royal residences that both belonged to him already and that he inherited following his mother’s passing.
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