King Charles III and Queen Camilla will not live at Buckingham Palace after almost £370 million ($488.4 million) of refurbishment work has been completed, closing the door on almost two centuries of British royal history.The palace will remain the operational centre of “monarchy HQ”, but King Charles has decided it will not be his official residence, with nearby Clarence House to remain his London home.“His Majesty retains huge affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect for its role in royal and public life,” a palace representative said. “It will be a buzzing hive of royal activity in every other way." The decision has been taken partly to increase public access to the London landmark popular with visitors. Security concerns would limit numbers and restrict the areas people could visit when the king was in residence.A string of royal accounts were published on Thursday, with key announcements including:The king has become the first monarch to publish their tax bill, £12.9 million for 2024-2025 – putting him among the country’s top 100 taxpayers for that financial year – and £11.7 million for 2023-2024, with more than £30 million paid in tax since he became the monarch in 2022Prince William, Prince of Wales, released his tax details for the first time, paying £7.76 million in income and capital gains tax in 2024-2025, after paying £8.34 million in 2023-2024The Sovereign Grant, which funds King Charles’s official duties and the work of his household, increased by £45.8 million to £132.1 million in 2025-2026The grant has a core element covering the cost of things such as travel, property maintenance and payroll and this has almost doubled in three years, increasing from £51.8 million in 2024-2025 to £99.9 million in 2027-2028Prince William undertook the most expensive official overseas visit, making a round-trip by charter plane to Saudi Arabia in February at a cost of £130,106, including staff planning the visitBuckingham Palace is to remain 'monarchy HQ' and will be used for official functions. PAInfo"I can update you that after careful consideration, and to greatly increase opportunities for public access, the King and Queen have decided not to adopt Buckingham Palace as a personal residence and will instead continue to use Clarence House as their London home," said James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse. “Their Majesties will, however, have access to private rooms within the palace where they can retire during the course of a working day and which could be utilised as potential residential accommodation in times ahead.”Queen Victoria was the first monarch to use the palace as the official seat of court in 1837. After marrying Prince Albert, she transformed the palace to accommodate their growing family, entertain guests and conduct official business.The palace has been undergoing a 10-year reservicing project that includes replacing boilers, electrical cables and pipes at a cost of £369 million to reduce the fire and flood risk. That work is due to be completed next March.“This is both a change from the past and a recognition of the future," Mr Chalmers added. "Let me be clear, however, that in all other ways Buckingham Palace will continue to be both the ceremonial and operational centre of royal life.“It is and will remain Monarchy HQ, the crown jewel of our national buildings, with the sovereign’s standard flying proudly from the roof whenever His Majesty is in London, just as it has done since accession.”There was a general expectation the king would live at the palace because it was so closely associated with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who had an apartment at the residence that will be available to King Charles and Queen Camilla during the day when the reservicing work is completed.“It will remain a working home but we are seeking to widen public access precisely to maximise the national benefit of a publicly funded building," a palace representative said.Queen Elizabeth II last stayed overnight at the palace on March 18 2020 and the following day released a message to the nation, written from Windsor Castle, a few days before the first Covid lockdown was announced. She wrote: “At times such as these, I am reminded that our nation’s history has been forged by people and communities coming together to work as one, concentrating our combined efforts with a focus on the common goal.”Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, spent much of the lockdown at Windsor Castle being looked after by a reduced number of staff known as HMS Bubble.There has been speculation that Prince William, who has recently moved his family to Forest Lodge in Windsor, will not live at Buckingham Palace when he becomes monarch.King Charles has lived at Clarence House, former home of the Queen Mother, since 2003 and will continue to host events at the palace, from garden parties to receptions, and hold audiences with new ambassadors. When the king is in London his royal standard flies from both the palace and Clarence House, whichever property he resides in.Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, said that "despite ongoing concerns about the huge cost of the royals, the grant will remain hugely inflated on its initial level of £31 million in 2012"."If that had risen by inflation, the grant would stand at £45 million, not £100 million," he added. “The government agreed to spent £369 million on refurbishing Buckingham Palace and now Charles doesn’t want to use it. But he’ll keep it under lock and key for when he does. Clearly the palace needs to be fully open to the public all year round.”