It has been revealed that back when she first became monarch, Queen Elizabeth II left her beloved Clarence House to live in Buckingham Palace after being encouraged by this person.
- The Crown owns a number of properties across the UK, including Buckingham Palace.
- Before the Queen moved her family to Buckingham Palace, she lived very comfortably just a stone's throw away at Clarence House
- In other royal news, The ‘shocking’ idea that royal commentator declares should get Prince Harry and Meghan’s security team ‘fired’.
Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham Palace in 1837 and since this time it has become known as the home of the monarch.
When King George VI died and his daughter, Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II, she was encouraged to move from her comfortable home at Clarence House to the Palace. But who wielded such power that they could influence the monarch on her living situation in order to maintain tradition? Winston Churchill.
In her 2005 book The Firm, Penny Junor claimed that Winston Churchill insisted that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip uprooted their family and moved to Buckingham Palace. "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. According to Michael Parker, the Duke of Edinburgh’s private secretary at the time, who travelled with the family as they left for Buckingham Palace, 'there was not a dry eye in that car'," she said.
In The Duchess: The Untold Story, Penny's 2017 novel about Camilla Parker-Bowles, the author wrote, "For the last few hundred years, the sovereign has lived at Buckingham Palace when he or she is in London, but it’s not a home and none of the present incumbents like it."
She added, "The Queen and Prince Philip were forced to give up Clarence House and move across the park when her father died, but she was very young and had a forceful Prime Minister in Winston Churchill, and was not in a position to protest."
In her later life and throughout the pandemic, the Queen spent less time in London and more time in her Berkshire property, Windsor Castle.
Those close to the Queen claimed that she 'never really liked' the Palace and saw it as a place of work rather than a home. Darren McGrady, a former royal chef who served the Queen at Buckingham Palace for 11 years, once commented, "It’s no surprise the Queen has moved to Windsor, she’s never really liked the palace, it’s always been the office to the Queen. The Queen would always be whizzing off back to Windsor Castle, she can’t wait to get back there. She loves it there, so it’s no surprise she’s moved there permanently."
Of course, the Queen passed while spending time in Scotland at her property Balmoral Castle. Her death means Buckingham Palace is now available for the new monarch, King Charles, to move into. It is unclear if the King plans to leave his residence at Clarence House and continue the long tradition of making the Palace the home of the Sovereign.
