Posted: 23:56, September 17, 2022 | Updated: 02:00, 18 September 2022
King Charles has plans to turn Balmoral into a museum in honor of his mother. The private Scottish castle so loved by the Queen will be “opened to the public” and is likely to host an exhibition paying tribute to her extraordinary seven-decade reign, an insider has said. “Looking at the number of properties and the number of working members of the royal family, the king will look at the properties and ask, ‘What value does this give to the public?’” a source said. An exhibition is likely to focus on the Queen’s life and provide an opportunity to display some of the Royal Jewels collection and the clothes worn by the Queen at key moments in history. It would also honor its connection with Scotland while making good use of the grounds and maintaining staff numbers on the estate. Charles is unlikely to need large living quarters at the Castle as he already has his own retreat in North East Scotland at nearby Birkhall. King Charles has plans to turn Balmoral into a museum in honor of his mother. Photo: Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and their children at their favorite home in Scotland in 1960 It will also fulfill the King’s ambition to create spaces within existing royal buildings where people can come together. During his tenure as Britain’s longest-serving Prince of Wales, the King spent time restoring Mey Castle, the Caithness home of his late grandmother, the Queen Mother. A source said: “He is now planning to do something similar with Balmoral. But all these things are likely to take some time.’ An exhibition at Balmoral, where the Queen enjoyed her summer holidays, could open to the public next summer. It would attract tens of thousands of visitors to pay their respects to the Queen at the Highland home where she spent her final days. The Queen’s coffin later lay in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, where staff and friends of the late monarch were able to pay their respects. Queen Elizabeth spent her final days at the Scottish retreat of Balmoral, where she loved to spend her summer holidays Six gamekeepers were selected to carry the coffin last Sunday in hearses waiting outside for a six-hour journey, accompanied by the Princess Royal, to Edinburgh where it rested overnight at the Palace of Holyroodhouse before a service in the Scottish capital at St. Giles Cathedral. The new plans for Balmoral are all part of the new King’s determination to curb the excess of royals and promote a diminished monarchy. One of his plans is to radically reduce the number of official suites at Buckingham Palace. As one source said, the King is very likely to adopt an ‘apartment over shop’ living arrangement.
