Queen Elizabeth attends a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London on May 29, 2019. (Yui Mok / AP)
By Amanda Thomason March 8, 2022 at 1:21pm
While English royalty and Buckingham Palace have basically become synonymous, Queen Elizabeth has made a break with tradition to move in to one of her other well-known residences.
While the “downgrade” from palace to castle isn’t much of a downgrade at all, there were several practical reasons the Queen decided this was the next step for her.
The 95-year-old has spent much of her 70 years on the throne at Buckingham Palace, but Windsor Castle has been her weekend home and the place she spends certain holidays.
The Times of London reports that the palace has been experiencing a lot of “reservicing,” according to the New York Post.
The website British Heritage states that the renovations are expected to cost around $500 million and should be completed by 2027. The painstaking process of moving artifacts to allow for the work began years ago.
“Moving historic works of art in a historic interior is always complex, but this is really on a very grand scale,” senior curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection Trust Caroline de Guitaut said.
“We’re talking about objects from paintings, to porcelain, to furniture, decorative objects, books, etcetera.”
While the hustle and bustle of renovation no doubt has had some impact on the decision, there are many other, stronger reasons for the shift.
For one, as Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire Hugo Vickers told the UK Times, the Post reported, “Windsor is the place she loves.”
“She has her memories with Prince Philip there, she has her ponies there and family nearby,” Vickers continued. “It makes sense.”
Windsor Castle is also where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip weathered out the pandemic, and it’s the place she and her late husband spent his last days.
While Buckingham Palace has been the official residence of the royal family since 1837, the Queen will now be receiving guests and hosting official engagements at Windsor Castle.
Justin Trudeau was the first guest she received at Windsor Castle and the first in-person engagement she’s had since recovering from COVID-19.
Prince Charles, who is next in line to the throne, will likely be the next royal resident at Buckingham Palace if he becomes king.
Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she’s strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.
As of January 2019, Amanda has written over 1,000 stories for The Western Journal but doesn’t really know how. Graduating from California State Polytechnic University with a MA in Rhetoric/Composition and TESOL, she wrote her thesis about metacognitive development and the skill transfer between reading and writing in freshman students.
She has a slew of interests that keep her busy, including trying out new recipes, enjoying nature, discussing ridiculous topics, reading, drawing, people watching, developing curriculum, and writing bios. Sometimes she has red hair, sometimes she has brown hair, sometimes she’s had teal hair.
With a book on productive communication strategies in the works, Amanda is also writing and illustrating some children’s books with her husband, Edward.
Location
Austin, Texas
Languages Spoken
English und ein bißchen Deutsch
Topics of Expertise
Faith, Animals, Cooking