In the magnificent home of Prince Charles and Camilla. Why princes william and charles don't want to move to buckingham palace in the future prince charles' favorite sport

clarence house

In July 2018, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla invited members of their family to their official London residence, Clarence House. There, the Windsors celebrated the christening of the infant Prince Louis. If we ignore the main characters in the photo, you can see elements of the luxurious interior of the Morning Room: a sofa with gold furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, and in the background is a portrait of the Queen.

Kensington Palace

Before Prince William and Kate Middleton moved into Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, the 20-room house underwent extensive renovations, and in addition to the imposing stone fence, another line of hedges appeared in front of the building. It was possible to see out of the corner of the eye how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live only in 2016 during a visit to them by Barack and Michelle Obama.

Despite the pouring rain, William, Kate and Harry went outside to greet the former US president and former first lady. This photo shows the entrance to the house, which is usually protected from prying eyes.

The meeting took place in the living room, decorated with family photographs, books, magazines, flowers and other items chosen with special care by the royal couple. The photographs taken that day also show that the decoration of the house contains antiques and masterpieces of painting. Guests from America were also greeted by Prince George, dressed in pale blue checkered pajamas and a matching terry dressing gown with an embroidered "George" monogram on the chest. The kid incredulously shook hands with the ex-President of the United States and quickly switched to a wooden rocking horse standing by the window. It is symbolic that this toy is a gift from the Obama family.

Thanks to the Obama family, royal observers were also able to look into Prince Harry's Nottingham Cottage. In 2015, the Duke of Sussex invited Michelle Obama to a tea party where they discussed the Let Girls Learn initiative, dedicated to the education of teenage girls around the world.

Highgrove Manor

“I have poured my heart and soul into Highgrove,” Prince Charles wrote of the estate, acquired ahead of his marriage to Diana Spencer.

Fashionable at the time, London decorator Dudley Popluck, who was a great friend of Prince Charles and Diana, helped with the interior design. In Highgrove, the newlyweds spent several happy years together, and then with their children.

This place even flaunts on the covers of books written by Prince Charles: "Harmony: a new way of looking at the world" 2010, "Organic gardening" 2007, "Highgrove: a portrait of the estate" and "Highgrove Gardens" 2001. Today Highgrove is the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.

Buckingham Palace

Elements of the interior of the London royal residence can be seen annually in the Queen's Christmas address. Her Majesty poses in the Palace's White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the 1844 Room and the Regency Room (left to right).

Over the years, hundreds of portraits of the Queen have been taken at Buckingham Palace, but some of her early photographs are the most eye-catching. For example, this black-and-white photo, taken in July 1946, when still just a royal and then Princess Elizabeth, sat and played the piano in state apartments.

Windsor castle

Summer residence of the queen. In the photo, Her Majesty is depicted with her grandchildren during the celebration of her 90th birthday.

sandringham palace

Sandringham Palace, located in Norfolk, just a few hours drive from Buckingham Palace, is the idyllic country residence of the Windsors. “This is a place for informal visits and entertainment with friends,” Prince Philip wrote of Sandrigham Palace. Usually the queen spends Christmas and New Year there with her family.

Balmoral Castle

At Balmoral, a private estate, the Queen spends a few weeks at the end of each summer. The Scottish castle is considered a favorite among all the residences of Elizabeth II. This cute photo shows a relaxed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with one of their pet dogs in the castle's living room in 1977.

Highgrove House in Gloucestershire is the private residence of the Prince of Wales. It was about him that Prince Charles wrote "I put my heart and soul into Highgrove"

Plan-scheme of the estate

Highgrove House (the actual house) was built in 1796-1798. John Paul Paul, possibly designed by architect Anthony Keck. And the land passed as a dowry for the bride of Josiah Paul Tipett (aka Paul Paul. There was a strange story related to the conditions of the will of the uncle, mother's brother, who insisted on changing the name of the nephew to the mother's maiden name O_O) Mary Clark, whose father was a local squire .

Until 1860, the estate belonged to Paul's descendants. in 1850, his granddaughter Mary Elizabeth Paul died in a candle fire that spread to her evening dress during a ball in honor of her brother (what horrors, probably her ghost lives there). In 1864 the house was sold again, this time to lawyer William Yatman. The building was restored in 1894 after another fire, which destroyed the interior and damaged the western part of the house.

The last owner of the estate until its sale in 1980 to the Duchy of Cornwall was Maurice Macmillan, son of former Prime Minister Tory Macmillan.

The acquisition of this estate by the prince caused a wave of gossip, which basically boiled down to the fact that the boy had grown up, the prince was going to marry. And so it happened. Soon the prince brought his young wife Diana to the estate, where they lived for a few happy years. Fashionable at the time, London decorator Dudley Poplak, who was a great friend of Prince Charles and Diana, helped with the interior design. By the way, the design of the princess's apartment in Kensington Palace also belongs to Poplak on his conscience.

It's amazing what just a few words can do. When the Prince of Wales bought Highgrove House near Tetbury, Gloucester, the estate didn't even have a rundown lawn. About thirty years have passed. On the site of the heath grew one of the finest gardens in all of Great Britain.

Charles is said to have often spoken to his plants.

Tours start from the Highgrove mansion, surrounded by fragrant wisteria, honeysuckle, jasmine, thyme. A two-mile journey awaits you through a variety of gardens, from the Sundial Garden in front of the house to the tree nursery. One of the most attractive in form and content is the Islamic Carpet Garden, the winner of the Chelsea Flower Show.

The flowers are chosen in such a way that the "flower designs" resemble ornaments on Persian carpets.

Although perhaps the most interesting sections are Wildflower Meadow and Walled Kitchen

These gardens were created with the participation of leading British biodiversity experts who are actively involved in the conservation of the country's flora and fauna. The Meadow is home to over thirty varieties of UK wildflowers, including bull's-eye, daisies, autumn rattle and cuckoo blossoms. Part of the National Beech Collection grows here, part of the endangered plants protected by the state conservation program.

The family began to live in two houses. Weekdays were spent in KP (as the members of the royal family call Kensington Palace), and weekends in nature in Highgrove. Moreover, ponies of princes constantly lived here :)

Charles was just a fan of his new estate toy, it was regularly updated and rebuilt.

Built in a classic Georgian style, this three-story rectangular building has 9 bedrooms, 4 living rooms, 8 bathrooms and a children's wing.

An accomplished gardener, Charles spent considerable time planning and designing gardens. He created a wild garden, a formal garden, and a kitchen garden. In addition, many plants included in the national collection have been grown on its land (I don’t quite understand, but it’s something like a herbarium, only the leaves are not dried, but live and grow in the ground;)

It is said that he spent about £500,000 on the creation of the gardens, taking full advantage of the advice and recommendations of the famous garden expert Rosemary Very, who lived next door in Barnsley House. It is clear that Charles does not support such beauty on the estate, but he is helped. Since 2008, Debs Goodeno has been the Head Gardener. Highgrove Manor consists of a park ensemble, several farms and 364 hectares of land on which they raise bulls and sheep.

But Charlie also makes money out of thin air, more precisely from the park ensemble he created, which is visited annually by more than 30 thousand people (advance booking tickets only, entrance with documents). Charles is terribly fond of promoting his estate as nature-friendly, well, money for it’s cutting down, what else is there for him to dress his daughter-in-law Farley became an entrepreneur and a farmer. He has chickens and bees buzzing and a shop at the estate works.

Everyone is well aware of Charles's love of nature, in his book he writes: "I had no experience in gardening or farming, and the only trees I planted were impossibly official in such official holes. I wanted to take care of this place myself and in the end leave it in a much better condition than when I I bought." Flowers in the beds of Prince Charles delight the eye throughout the flowering period

In January 2003, BBC Natural World made a documentary on Highgrove.

Charles, Prince of Wales, or simply Prince Charles Philip Arthur George (George) Windsor, is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, heir to the British throne, field marshal, admiral of the fleet and marshal of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain. He is the absolute record holder in the history of the British Monarchy by the length of stay in the status of heir to the British crown (for 2015 - 63 years), as well as the oldest of all the Princes of Wales

For a long time, the British saw in Prince Charles a man open to the outside world, a kind of extrovert, accustomed to behaving too casually, sometimes to the point of swagger, and a little old-fashioned. Sometimes he was nevertheless perceived as a person of benevolence, vulnerability and imbued with the spirit of classicism, especially in regard to his tastes. Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester (Chester), Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Antilles, Steward of Scotland, Knight of the Garter, forty-fourth heir to the throne of the Kings of Great Britain was the embodiment of the British spirit, both classical and pleasant, funny and weird.

By virtue of which, Prince Charles seemed doomed to spend the best days of his royally armored youth in the pleasurable and apparently boring role of an official, representative of the royal family, showered with the enthusiasm of the crowd, of course, but at the same time constantly overshadowed his mother and wife, just as many of the men of the Windsor dynasty were constantly in the shadow of their women. It is clear that this role could not bring him satisfaction.

Buckingham Palace transcends itself with celebrations for births, christenings and weddings. On a cold November day in 1948, the 14th, Sunday, at 21:14, Prince Charles was born in a boule-style hall. At that moment, a midwife, four doctors and an anesthetist were near Elizabeth. The birth of Prince Charles became a kind of “death knell” according to one of the ancient traditions, because the Minister of the Interior was not present; the thing is that George VI, who wanted to save his daughter from the presence of a strange man, which would cause her an attack of shame, abolished this custom.

Charles Philip Arthur George, who had just been born, already had two titles: five days earlier, George VI had amended the royal decree, which stated that the sons of the monarch had the right to be called princes and Their Highnesses. Forty-one artillery volleys were fired in honor of his birth. The bells of Westminster Abbey rang five thousand times. Trafalgar Square was illuminated. The sailors were given a double portion of rum.

All of England was moved on the day of the christening, December 15, contemplating how the prince and princess were holding a child in their arms, drowning in white lace. Elizabeth was touched by the sight of two tiny pens, “lying like two tiny miniature candles on a christening shirt made of satin and lace.” The young godmother Margaret carried Charles in her arms during the ceremony, which took place at the Music Salon at Buckingham Palace.

Is Buckingham Palace made for children? Is it suitable for them? Charles left Clarence House and ended up at Buckingham Palace at the age of four. To somehow mitigate the unpleasant consequences of the move, the Queen asked that the nursery at Buckingham Palace be an exact copy of the nursery at Clarence House.

The rooms, intended for daytime fun and activities, were decorated in yellow tones and decorated with floral chintz draperies, while the bedroom was decorated in pale blue tones. The schedule of the young prince did not change until the day he was seven years old: getting up at 7 in the morning, taking a bath at 8 (sometimes his mother washed him); a hearty breakfast at 8:45 a.m., a walk in the park at 10:00 a.m., lunch at noon, a siesta, that is, rest, at 4:30 p.m., tea in the presence of Elizabeth, taking a bath before going to bed, going to bed.

Charles rode a pony called William at a very early age, and his first playmate was a little rabbit, Harvey, who historians and genealogists should not confuse with the Labrador dog that Charles now lives with and bears the same name. Charles then secured a "royal rabbitry" for his adored rabbit, and he shared the prince's love with two birds, David and Annie, and a hamster named Shishi. In short, this plump-cheeked young prince had a real zoo!

But as the years went on, Charles had to come to terms and submit to the rules of that upbringing, which corresponded to the future intended for him. The end of those happy times when the governess gave him the first information on grammar, history and geography! It's time to learn to conquer your timidity and discover the outside world. So, he will go to school, like all boys of his age (and this is an unprecedented case for children from the royal family, because all his ancestors were brought up and trained in the palace by special private teachers).

Charles's childhood fell on a period when there was a process of democratization and a kind of modernization of the royal court. So, he was enrolled in Hill House School, which is located behind the Harrods store, exactly five minutes walk from the palace. The newcomer entered under her vaults on January 28, 1957. After Hill House, there could no longer be a return to the past: Charles then visited Chir-Skul and Gordon-Skul. After high school, Charles, despite a mediocre certificate, entered the University of Cambridge, where in 1970 he received a diploma of "Bachelor of Arts" (that is, in the humanities). In 1975, according to university tradition, he was awarded the degree of "Master of Arts".

The most enviable groom of all that appeared on the pages of the famous "Gotha Almanac" (published in the city of Gotha in Germany since 1763 in German and French and contains information on genealogy, diplomacy and statistics. - Yu. R.), up to thirty-two years led a rather boring, monotonous, "routine" life in his bachelor suite at Buckingham Palace. By nature, Charles is more of a lark than an owl, so he went to bed around midnight.

He invariably got up at half past seven, and at that time always the same footman, the only one who had the right to see His Highness in bed, entered the bedroom. A cool shower was followed by a shave with a badger hair brush; his favorite aftershave is specially named "Windsor Wood" as if this choice was predetermined (it is sold only in London at the Trumpers store).

At this time, Charles' footman prepares his clothes ... Now the prince can only swallow breakfast and go down to his office to settle all issues and clarify all the details related to his daily schedule. When he does not have pre-arranged visits, he spends most of the day in the office. He prepares his speeches there, signs letters, reads the reports of his employees and receives official visitors. The only permanent guest is his Labrador Harvey.

His life as a bachelor was marked by the stamp of loneliness: in Buckingham Palace he had breakfast alone, looking through the mail and morning newspapers, he also often dined alone in his living room, sitting in front of the TV screen and holding a tray on his knees. Sometimes, however, he dined outside the walls of the palace, but very rarely and on condition that he was informed in advance who would be present at the table. In London, the prince always dined alone; however, during his trips he joined the members of his "general staff". In general, he spends quite a lot of time with this team, whose members have become his friends over the years. Sometimes they were perplexed by bizarre and changeable tastes.

It is known that in the 1960s, Charles courted many girls. In 1979, he proposed to his second cousin Amanda Natchbull, the granddaughter of the legendary commander, the last viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten, but Amanda did not give her consent to marriage. the future 8th Earl Spencer, and met her younger sister Diana, whom he eventually married on July 29, 1981.

His Highness: for example, everyone knew that he usually does not drink tea or coffee, and the palace deliberately spread this information, but the prince seemed to take pleasure when, smiling slyly, he suddenly asked for a cup of tea, putting everyone in a difficult situation . But then Diana appeared, and the “wedding of the century” took place. The young couple kept moving from Highgrow (outside the city) to apartments in Kensington Palace. Having been widowed, Charles chose St. James's Palace, and at Buckingham Palace he retained only part of the secretariat, but, as the future king, he knows that one day he will return there forever.

Crown of Prince Frederick of Wales

On July 1, 1969, a formal investiture ceremony took place at Caernarvon Castle in Wales, during which Elizabeth II placed the crown of the Prince of Wales on her son's head. After that, he actively participates in the public life of Great Britain. In the 1970s, he participated in meetings of the House of Lords, and also became the first member of the royal family in three hundred years to attend a meeting of the Cabinet. According to some reports, Charles was interested in the post of Governor General of Australia, but in the light of the constitutional crisis in this country in 1975, these plans were forced to be abandoned.

carnarvon

In parallel, in 1971-1976, Charles was in military service: he completed a course as a fighter and military helicopter pilot, and also served in the Navy. After Charles timidly and modestly lived in the shadow of his patron mother, superman father and legendary cousin grandfather (Edward VIII, who abdicated for his famous Mrs. Willis), after he was relegated to the background and, as it were, deprived of the attractiveness of his dazzling wife, after he was pilloried for being at five o'clock in the evening drank tea with Camilla, that is, was convicted of adultery,

Charles, stung by the fact that in the eyes of the British he looked like an eccentric intellectual, making smart conversations with grown tomatoes, did not want to play any more secondary roles. The eternal youth, who eked out an ordinary existence in the most magnificent and luxurious court of the planet, wanted to become a prince again, charming people and subordinating them to himself.

Gradually, the heir to the throne managed to “raise the bar” and “clear the ground”. Now he is no longer tormented by doubts and indecision. There is nothing in him of a man tormented by a sense of dissatisfaction and tormented by the endless expectation of the moment when he ascends the throne. Everyone understands that Charles managed to find the meaning of life. He wishes to contribute to the prosperity and greatness of his country and believes that in this capacity he can play an extremely important role in this matter.

The Prince of Wales was looking for the meaning of life in concrete deeds. Architecture, ecology, medicine using natural remedies, education, unemployment, the culture of distant countries - everything seems to touch some strings in his heart. Using his outwardly obvious, but essentially imaginary, freedom, and at the same time carefully and shrewdly using the power of the press, the Prince of Wales has become today the standard bearer of a certain social, social movement fighting for the environment, in whose ranks are the vast majority of Her Majesty's subjects (about ninety percent of the population, according to polls). The mad cow crisis has made it clear that the only protector of the English countryside is the son of the queen.

This horticulturalist humanist prince, this eminent watercolor painter, this operatic aficionado managed to "get into tune", to become in tune with Great Britain, especially the mood of the youth, despite the fact that sometimes his actions or demarches are met with ridicule and criticism. . His success is somewhat like a bet, an unthinkable undertaking, a challenge: to recreate and modernize the ideal image of a prince, which once existed in ancient times in European dynasties, when kings died young, that is, the image of an eternally young prince, kind, noble and just.

And with a romantic outlook on life. Indeed, romanticism is one of Charles's favorite values, and his romanticism plays a large role in the interest that the prince arouses in his person from the general public. People see his oddities and whims, but at the same time, looking at him, it begins to seem to them that one of the powers that be can influence the course of events not only with his mind, but also with his heart. It is quite obvious that Charles wants to play the role of a kind of counterweight to the monarchical apparatus with all its luxury, pomposity and brilliance.

The 80s of the 20th century revealed themselves to Charles. He appreciated the amazing impact on society of his marriage, which was greatly facilitated by the media, because it was a precise hit on the target, and his popularity grew incredibly, although some of it was stolen from him. Diana. (Next post about this story)

Whatever he himself can do for his country, whether by means of speeches or by undertaking well-thought-out actions, has become his chief concern. From now on, he is literally obsessed with the obsession with preserving his image in the eyes of the British. The failure of his marriage to Diana, for which public opinion held him responsible, remains his Achilles' heel to this day. In addition, he also has the appearance of a real representative of the Windsor family, for which some of Charles's contemporaries sometimes did not spare him, subjecting him to severe criticism.

Charles is feeling dissatisfied? This topic has long been the leitmotif of all press publications. In the "portrait" that appeared in the pages of Life magazine, another biographer of the prince, Anthony Holden, focused his attention and the attention of readers on the description of Charles' weak handshake, on his nervous tic, constant nervousness, on his ever-increasing misanthropy, on the fear that haunts him. failures, on his complexes, acquired because of comparing himself with Diana.

It seems obvious that Charles knows the world well, that is, the upper world in which he moves, and that he is well aware of how absurd and absurd this world, his world is. “This is a prince who knows what a “state of mind” or “mood” is, some will mock him. “This is a responsible and serious prince,” others will strenuously exaggerate his merits. In any case, he really is a serious person, but the word "serious" is not a synonym for the word "boring".

Indeed, no one questions his sense of humor, his seriousness and his intelligence. Those who think they know him especially suffer from his self-doubt and distrust of others. Many even quarreled with him because of this. It is said that one of the Prince of Wales's private secretaries even seemed to sob more than once after listening to his reproaches. It seems that the attendants sometimes god knows what they bring the prince to ... and sometimes the prince shows someone where the crayfish hibernate ...

So, Charles likes to get up early. He goes to work in his office, where the servants are strictly forbidden to shift anything from place to place, because the prince is very neat, to the point of pedantry. His instructions are always set out briefly, in writing, and instead of a signature, there is only the first letter of his name. He has little direct contact with servants. The servants are aware of their master's phobias: he hates the noise of water pipes and too hot rooms. By the way, he himself regulates the thermostats in the main rooms. Michael Colborne, who until 1984 was his personal secretary, often fell victim to the incredulous and touchy Charles. Lord Mountbatten, once finding him distressed by some remark by Charles, cheered him up in the following terms: “Be patient with him, Michael, please. He is not angry with you personally, he just needs a release, and you are the only one on whom he can take out his bad mood. Take it as an honor, for he needs you."

To make sure that he is not being exploited for commercial purposes, neither by himself as a person nor by his name, the prince is constantly on guard. As soon as one of the secretaries demonstrates insufficient vigilance, a scandal erupts. Michael Verney draws, in his opinion, a rather “diplomatic” portrait of the prince: “I believe that there is a certain paradox in the deep nature of Prince Charles. On the one hand, he seems to be aware of his loneliness, his position in society, which does not allow him to be like everyone else and maintain real bonds of friendship, and on the other hand, he seems to be completely satisfied with the company of himself, that is, self-sufficient .

So, fishing is one of his favorite pastimes. Isn't it indicative and testifies to many things? But in any case, this is a person who is always positive, a positive and reasonable person who tries to avoid any complications and conflicts as much as possible. I don’t mean to say that he shirks his duties and shirks responsibility, but if there is a way to find a solution to the problem that will avoid tension, he will immediately resort to it.

One of Charles's biographers, Alan Hamilton, notes: “There are subtle signs of premature aging in his appearance; he compensates for this deficiency with his poorly hidden or undisguised passion of an adult joker and joker ... It seems to be true that during a trip to the Hebrides, Charles, dressed in work overalls, planted potatoes, extracted peat and herded sheep. As soon as this news became known, the newspapers wrote that Charles was certainly a great original.

Her Majesty's subjects, no doubt, understood that the royal burden is heavy, that sometimes a person weighed down by this burden may want to escape somewhere and that this is normal; they also realized that now that the topic of ecology is in vogue, it is not surprising that someone can find pleasure in gardening or gardening. Charles must be aware that now, as Prince of Wales, he can enjoy moments of rest and freedom that will not be possible when he reigns. He loves nature and has never hidden it."

Vaclav Havel, Klaus Schwab

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Even Charles's love for Camilla is now beginning to serve him in good stead, because the fact that he has been faithful to her for so long and sacrificed so much for love eventually gives rise to respect for him, makes him treat him with respect. The clever and persistent psychological manipulation of society, carried out by Charles in order to make his long-term relationship acceptable to this society, finally paid off. They now look like finally united lovers .... And in this case, Charles's great spiritual virtues were manifested: he was patient, diplomatic, courageous and faithful to his love.

Camilla Rosemary Mountbatten - Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay

On April 9, 2005, Prince Charles married for the second time - to his longtime mistress, with whom he maintained relations both before marriage and during it - Camilla Parker Bowles, nee Shand. The marriage ceremony was performed in a civil, not a church order - for the first time in the history of the British royal family. Through her marriage to Charles, Camilla received all of his titles, but chooses not to use her title of Princess of Wales as a mark of respect for the late Princess Diana. Instead, she uses the title of Duchess of Cornwall (in England) and Rothesay (in Scotland).

Finally, in the eyes of public opinion, Charles became a loving, affectionate father to William and Harry, a protective father, a protective father. During Diana's lifetime, the Prince of Wales was seen as a rather cold father, aristocratically aloof from his children and not at all affectionate (admittedly, the princess was good at manipulating the media to create such an impression). After her death, Charles began to be perceived as a person who took his duties very seriously in relation to the two "orphans", as William and Harry are called.

What happened to him? "He developed into a very loving, very affectionate, very caring father." He took his sons to the World Cup football match, then went on vacation with them. He watched closely as William prepared for his driver's license exam. Countless pictures of Charles and his two sons playing polo appeared in the press. It turns out that Prince Charles teases them, he plays with them! In short, Charles has become almost a mother hen. Most of all, he wanted to protect his children, it was out of the question for him to have the press turn their lives into a nightmare, as happened to him when he was the same age as his sons. And in this case, public opinion could only support and approve it.
Contrary to English customs, Charles was not shy about showing his feelings: it is clear that he not only loves William and Harry, but feels tenderness for them.

Prince Charles is actively involved in charity work, is a member of various societies, including the patronage of about 350 structures. He is the founder of The Prince's Trust and 15 other charities. His particular areas of interest are environmental protection and improvement of the urban environment. Charles is interested in alternative medicine, and his work to popularize it has become the subject of public discussion. In addition, the prince deals with issues of national minorities and small peoples.

As befits a member of the British royal family, Charles belongs to the Anglican Church. At the same time, he shows an interest in Orthodoxy and visits Mount Athos in Greece every year. Prince Charles was an active polo player, loved fox hunting (until this leisure activity was banned in 2005) and fishing. He is also known to paint with watercolors and enjoy gardening.

The prince is the author of a number of books on architecture, painting and gardening, the author of the script for documentaries on ecology. As part of his duties as a member of the royal family, Charles visits many countries of the world. Recently, he has been fulfilling more royal duties due to the advanced age of his parents. He is a fan of the series Doctor Who, who first watched, according to his own statement, at the age of 15 years. On July 3, 2013, Prince visited Roath Lock, where the series is currently filming.

Is Charles today the Prince of Wales that Elizabeth dreamed of? No doubt... For a while, she considered him too much of a "revolutionary", preaching purely European values, allowing herself to speculate that the Commonwealth might disappear, as the British Empire, the mistress of India, disappeared, and also a man inclined towards ecumenism in the religious sphere. But Charles has since come to his senses.

He became reasonable, sane, but, on the other hand, he is not afraid to express and support opinions and judgments that cannot be called generally accepted, ordinary. He is more liberal than conservative, and the queen understands and accepts this. He would be excellent as a modern king, his mother sincerely believes. Charles will be all the more a good king because he again managed to win the trust of the British after a long "descent into hell", that is, after the torment that tormented him after the death of his ex-wife Diana.

To be continued...

Prince William with his father at the Invictus Games

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the country's monarch - today Queen Elizabeth II lives and works in it. The majestic building really makes a strong impression both on people who saw it with their own eyes, and on those who enjoyed only his photographs. The royally decorated facade and all the interior decoration literally radiate splendor. Despite the fact that many ordinary people can only dream of living in the royal palace, some members of the Windsor family, on the contrary, believe that it is better to stay away from him. And they have their reasons for that.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace was built in the early eighteenth century as the residence of the Duke of Buckingham. In 1762, the palace was acquired by George III as a private property, since St. James's Palace, which at that time was the official residence of the king, began to seem to him unsuitable in size. Buckingham Palace was declared the main residence of the British monarch upon the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

Externally, the palace looks very impressive, and the interior decoration - gilding, massive chandeliers and candelabra - create at first glance a true royal atmosphere. But this does not mean at all that Buckingham Palace is really a comfortable and safe place to live.

Queen Elizabeth II during her annual Christmas address at Buckingham Palace, December 24, 2018

So, a few years ago, asbestos slabs began to be removed from the basements of the palace, and this process could last a whole decade or even longer. In April 2017, due to the threat of a “critical failure”, about 3,000 meters of cable wiring had to be dismantled. In addition, from time to time, pieces of masonry fall from the facade - in 2007, the masonry collapsed next to Princess Anna.

The roof is leaking in many places and staff are often forced to set up water buckets. In 2001, there was a mass exodus of palace rodents, and it got to the point that the queen’s representative had no choice but to jokingly tell reporters: “The ratio of mice and people is broken (in the palace), so there is no doubt that the queen will have to flee to Windsor."

Buckingham Palace, view from above

The palace is currently undergoing a major renovation project that is estimated to cost at least £369 million ($480 million). In 2025, the monarch (Queen Elizabeth may turn 99 in 2025) will have to temporarily leave the palace so that all the necessary repairs can be completed. By the way, Elizabeth II is a very practical lady, she has already told the palace staff: “Let me know where you would like me to move.”

Elizabeth II during a ceremony in London, June 9, 2018

At the same time, Prince Charles is not at all enthusiastic about the prospect of moving to Buckingham Palace. The future king, also known as an active environmentalist, is determined to live in an environmentally friendly and comfortable place. "He's not a big house fan, as he calls the palace," an insider told the Sunday Times. He doesn't consider it a suitable house to live in or a house suitable for the modern world. He believes that its maintenance, both from the point of view of financial costs and from the point of view of the environment, is not the most optimal solution ”(What kind of king will Prince Charles).

It is possible that in the future Buckingham Palace will become a full-fledged museum or will be used only for some official events.

Prince Charles, Dukes of Cambridge and Dukes of Sussex

A spokesperson for Clarence House - the residence of the Prince of Wales - has previously argued that Buckingham Palace will remain "the monarch's official London residence". But royal observers note that the concept of "official London residence" can be interpreted in different ways: Buckingham Palace may well become something of an office for the new king. An insider from Prince William's entourage also previously told the press: "Talks continue that Kensington Palace will be the residence of the Duke of Cambridge during the reign of the next king (Charles), after which he will move to Buckingham Palace." Nevertheless, as sources noted, the Duke of Cambridge fully shares his father's opinion on the inexpediency of using such a large residence. So we can assume that William and Catherine will try to keep their apartments in Kensington Palace as long as possible (Nothing lasts forever: will the British monarchy “die” with the queen?).

Prince Charles has decided to buy himself another residence, which will be a 123-room mansion in Cornwall. The famous Port Eliot was valued at 13.9 million euros. Representatives of the royal court said that the historic building will become a haven for various arts.

Engraving by T. Allom from 1830.

Before party-going aristocrat Iago Eliot was found dead in a bathtub at the age of 40 on April 15, 2006, he feared that his father, the Earl of St. German, would sell the small farm they owned in Port Eliot, Cornwall. The father planned to raise funds to buy a house in London for his new wife.

However, Iago did not suspect that negotiations for the sale of the 123-room mansion, which hosts the annual Port Eliot Art Festival, would be conducted with Prince Charles a few years later. According to the Daily Mail, the prince is buying the mansion for 13.9 million euros.

The sale will mean that the son of Iago and his widow Bianchi, 10-year-old Albert, will inherit the title of 74-year-old count, but not the family estate in which his family has lived since the 16th century.

Lord St. German and his trustees have invited the Prince Charles Foundation to conduct a study on the feasibility of a project to purchase a house in Port Eliot, some of the furnishings, a garden and stables.

A royal source says the historic building, which contains paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Van Dyck, will become a home for a variety of arts, following the example of Dumfries House in Scotland, in which Charles invested 62.5 million in 2007.

Port Eliot includes an old mansion with its own church, which serves as the parish church of the city of St. Germans. The house is located inside the property, the area of ​​which is 2,400 hectares.

Separate parts of the estate, originally built as a monastery, date back to the 12th century. The appearance of the mansion was largely changed in the XVII-XVIII centuries by eminent architects, including Sir John Soane.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Eliot family invested large sums of money in the development of the property, adding numerous farmhouses, fishing huts and other buildings. Many of them remain part of the estate to this day and are rented out to local residents and family friends.

In March 2008, the house and its grounds were opened to the public for the first time for exactly one hundred days and attracted over 12,000 visitors. The estate is now open to the public for three months each spring.

In London, the official residence of the Prince of Wales is Clarence House. The Prince also owns the estates of Highgrove in Gloucestershire, Burkhall in Scotland and Luynevermude in Wales.

How the new purchase of the prince will affect his image, experts are not yet able to predict, but Charles has not been an authoritative member of the royal family for a long time. Earlier, EUROMAG wrote that a little more than a month ago, another scandal was connected with Prince Charles. This time, a book by Times journalist Katherine Meyer was in the spotlight of the public. The author of Charles: The Heart of a King presented the book as an unofficial biography.

For example, according to Mayer, Prince Charles, literally on the eve of his wedding to Diana, was ready to throw his bride at the altar. The prince himself allegedly confessed this to one of his close associates. In Buckingham Palace, the scandalous biography of Prince Charles was called “ill-informed speculation” and emphasized that the author of the book was unable to communicate with the prince and based her judgments on quotes from anonymous close associates of the Windsor family.


However, in Britain, most of the actions of the "eternal heir" have long been perceived either with humor or with wariness.