Buckingham Palace is a royal residence in London and the administrative headquarters of the United Kingdom's monarch. The palace, which is located in the City of Westminster, is frequently at the center of state occasions and royal hospitality.
It has served as a focal point for the British people during times of national celebration and mourning. The building at the heart of today's palace, originally known as Buckingham House, was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been privately owned for at least 150 years.
It was purchased as a private residence for Queen Charlotte by King George III in 1761 and became known as The Queen's House. Architects John Nash and Edward Blore expanded it in the nineteenth century, building three wings around a central courtyard.
With Queen Victoria's accession in 1837, Buckingham Palace became the British monarch's London residence. The East Front, which contains the well-known balcony from which the royal family traditionally appears to greet crowds, was the last major structural addition made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
During WWII, a German bomb destroyed the palace chapel; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.
How Much is Buckingham Palace Worth?
If you want to live like a royal, Buckingham Palace alone will cost you 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion). A new study by McCarthy Stone says that if the 775-room London home were for sale, it would cost that much. That's up 100 million pounds since before the pandemic, and the UK monarchy also benefits from a hot housing market.
The retirement property developer thinks that the value of the royal property portfolio in the UK, which includes castles and lodges all over the country, reached 3.7 billion pounds in 2022. Since 2019, this is 460 million pounds more.
If ten figures for a London home seems like a lot, McCarthy Stone also says that Buckingham Palace could be rented out for 2.6 million pounds a month if the Royal family ever wanted to. The estimates are based on how big each property is, how many rooms it has, and where it is.
Not that any of the properties that were looked at are likely to be sold or rented in the future. The royal palaces are not owned by the House of Windsor alone. Instead, they belong to the UK and are held in trust for people in the future.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent Buckingham Palace?
When we came up with a number for Buckingham Palace, we took into account the rental value of this luxury seven-bedroom freehold house with an indoor swimming pool, high-end fixtures and fittings, outdoor space, and an exclusive address in Knightsbridge.
Taking into account that this Knightsbridge property rents for £16,500 per week, we think that if the King rented out Buckingham Palace, he could get around £565,000 per week. Or, His Majesty might choose a short-term rental while she's on vacation in Balmoral or Sandringham.
In this case, it could cost more than £1 million per week to live like a Royal. Deserves a Queen! Even though this is all for fun and has nothing to do with the real value of Buckingham Palace, what's the harm in guessing?
