Here's Where Prince Charles Will Likely Live When He Becomes King

As Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years on the throne, making her Britain's longest-reigning monarch, there has been more talk about what will happen when she is gone one day. 

The queen is 95 years old and had some health issues at the end of 2021, spending one night in the hospital for tests and being told by her doctors to rest just before the holidays. 

She was also seen in public with a walking stick and had to cancel several planned trips, including one to Ireland and one to Scotland for the COP26 climate summit (via CBS News).

Just as the queen's 70th anniversary as the sovereign arrived, she also announced that, when her first son, Prince Charles, becomes king, his second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, also known as the Duchess of Cornwall, will be called Queen Consort — something never expected when Charles and Camilla married in a 2005 civil ceremony that the queen didn't even attend. 

Now comes news of where Charles and Camilla will live when he becomes king and she becomes queen consort.

Since 1837, when Queen Victoria took the throne, Buckingham Palace has been the traditional main residence of the monarch. But there was word that, when Queen Elizabeth II dies, it would become more of a workspace for the monarchy than a home. 

However, the Daily Mail now reports that Prince Charles and Camilla will live there when he becomes king, with a source telling the outlet that Charles is "firmly of the view that it's the visible symbol of the monarchy in the nation's capital and therefore must be his home."

The source added: "There is no question about it. HRH's view is that you need a monarch at monarchy HQ. This has never been in doubt."

Currently, Charles and Camilla make their main home Clarence House in London, the same home that Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, shared before she became queen.

While Charles' son and daughter-in-law Prince William and Kate Middleton will remain in an apartment at Kensington Palace, sources tell the Daily Mail that they will eventually inherit Windsor Castle, another favorite home of the queen.

There's more talk than ever about Charles' life when he becomes king, and where he will live is only part of the planning. On February 12, when Charles was still recovering from his second COVID-19 diagnosis, the Daily Mail reported on "Operation Golden Orb" which is the code phrase used for plans for his coronation, the big event when he will be crowned as the new monarch. Due to Queen Elizabeth II's record time on the British throne, the country hasn't seen a coronation in 70 years.

When the queen was crowned a year after her father, King George VI, passed away, it was a grand affair televised to 27 million people, with 11 million more people listening to the historic event complete with all the pomp and circumstance on the radio (via The Scottish Daily Express). It looks like Charles' coronation won't be quite as grand as the Prince of Wales looks to scale it back in a much quieter affair fit with modern times.

According to the Daily Mail, both Charles and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, will be crowned together as he becomes king and she becomes queen consort, but a source tells the outlet that the event will be "shorter, sooner, smaller, less expensive and more representative of different community groups and faiths." However, the ceremony will still be an Anglican one in keeping with religious tradition.

While Queen Elizabeth II's coronation included 8,000 dignitaries at Westminster Abbey, Charles' coronation will be limited to a maximum of 2,000 in attendance and will be "far shorter because you have to consider Charles's age," another source told the Daily Mail.

Even fewer members of the royal family will be in attendance, as a royal source notes. "It will be a slimmed-down Monarchy on display throughout," they said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see just Charles and Camilla, Kate and William and their children on the Buckingham Palace balcony afterwards."

Once he is king, Charles will stick with the tradition of living at Buckingham Palace, but he does intend to make another change aside from his scaled-back coronation. He also plans to use a different royal insignia from his mother, who uses the St. Edward's design. Instead, Charles plans to go with the Tudor crown to usher in a new era in the British monarchy.