It transpires that perhaps the
monarch never really wanted to reside at the palace in the first place. As
reported by royal biographer Penny Junor in her book The Firm, the Queen
wished to remain living at Clarence House after her father’s death. Still, it was,
in fact, Sir Winston Churchill who strongly encouraged the move to Buckingham
Palace.
It reads: “None of them
wanted to go. They loved Clarence House; it was a family home, but Winston
Churchill, who was then Prime Minister, insisted upon it.”
The monarch is clearly very
fond of Windsor Castle which boasts 484,000 square feet of space and 1000
rooms, as she chose to spend the majority of the coronavirus pandemic at the
900-year-old property along with the ‘HMS bubble’ of 22 staff members.
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Buckingham Palace is no longer Her Majesty’s primary residence
The castle was also where her
husband the Duke of Edinburgh spent the last of his days, and according
to The Telegraph, these were enjoyed with a blanket on his lap and the
sun on his face.
The 96-year-old monarch will
now use Buckingham Palace less frequently, choosing to only visit for important
London meetings. The pandemic has illuminated the possibility for Her Majesty
to communicate virtually though, so we may see royal video calls continue.
