The Queen will 'never live at Buckingham Palace again' as she makes her move to Windsor permanent

Queen Elizabeth II attends the 2016 Braemar Highland Gathering at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 3, 2016 in Braemar, Scotland.
(Image credit: Getty Images / Max Mumby/Indigo)

After spending the majority of the pandemic at Windsor Castle, her Majesty will make the move permanent and will not return to living at Buckingham Palace

The Queen will reportedly remain at Windsor Castle and will "never live" at Buckingham Palace again.

Her Majesty and her late husband Prince Philip initially relocated temporarily to their Berkshire home at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

However, following his death and ongoing refurbishments at Buckingham Palace, it’s been reported the Queen will stay at Windsor Castle permanently, despite famously living in the London palace for the majority of her reign. 

A general view shows The Round Tower (L) and The Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle on February 17, 2022

Windsor Castle holds very special memories for the Queen and it is where she has spent her last two Christmases after restrictions forced the royal family to scrap their traditional plans at Sandringham.  

Royal author Hugo Vickers told The Sunday Times, “Windsor is the place she loves. She has her memories with Prince Philip there, she has her ponies there and family nearby.”

HM The Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh re-visit Broadlands, to mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on November 20.

The monarch's health is also thought to be a contributing factor to the move, with Her Majesty suffering multiple health scares recently, including a painful back sprain and testing positive for Covid-19. Thankfully the Queen is now on the mend, after showing ‘extraordinary courage and no fuss’ over testing positive for the virus.

While Buckingham Palace is the traditional home for the monarch, Vickers explains that the move "makes sense" for the Queen.  

The iconic palace will become the full-time home of the monarch once again when Prince Charles becomes King. As it was reported that William and Kate could inherit the Queen's home when she dies, as Charles is set to reject it, to instead live at Buckingham Palace.

A general view of Buckingham Palace on February 20, 2022 in London, England.

A source told the Daily Mail that Charles views Buckingham Palace as "the most distinct symbol of the monarchy in the heart of the nation’s capital and therefore it must be his home, he also thinks it would be strange to have Buckingham Palace without royals living there.”

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.