With a decades-long passion for sustainability and the environment, Prince Charles is said to have been looking for ways to make Buckingham Palace work more efficiently when he takes up residence there.
Although plans to turn more areas of the building into a museum have been steadily gaining traction, it is a proposal that is said to have faced opposition from Queen Elizabeth II.
“She’s not very keen on that particular idea and believes, of course, that it should remain a family home of sorts,” a source recently told the Daily Mirror.
The wrought iron gates were thrown open in 1993, when Buckingham Palace was opened to the public for the first time and has since proved a popular destination for visitors.
Often selling out tickets months in advance, the palace helped contribute towards the £49.9 million ($65.8m) the Royal Estates generated in ticket sales between 2019-2020, according to statistics website statista.com.
The queen makes permanent move to Windsor Castle
Following the 1936 abdication by her uncle Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI, became the king, while she became the heir presumptive, the family moved into Buckingham Palace, which would become her main residence for the next nine decades.
Moving to Windsor Castle in March 2020 during the height of the pandemic, the queen has since made the Berkshire castle her permanent base and will not be returning to take up full-time residence at the palace.
With Windsor Castle, along with Balmoral in Scotland, her favourite second residences, it is where her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, died in April 2021, aged 99.
“Windsor is the place she loves,” royal author Hugo Vickers told The Sunday Times. “She has her memories with Prince Philip there, she has her ponies there and family nearby. It makes sense.”
The future of Buckingham Palace
While plans concerning succession have been in the making for a long time, the question of Buckingham Palace has often been a thorny one.
According to royal sources, Prince Charles, who would be expected to move into the palace when he becomes king, has in the past expressed disdain for “the big house”, telling courtiers he would prefer to rule from his formal London residence, Clarence House.
“I know he is no fan of ‘the big house’, as he calls the palace," a source told the Sunday Times. “He doesn’t see it as a viable future home or a house that’s fit for purpose in the modern world. He feels its upkeep, both from a cost and environmental perspective, is not sustainable.”
That said, sources recently told the Daily Mail Charles has come around to the idea that he would rule from the palace, reporting he 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”.
More of the Royal Collection to be made public?
A shake-up of Buckingham Palace and the 26 royal residences in the UK looks likely when Charles becomes king. Among those, perhaps plans to open up more of the palace and show more of the Royal Collection.
The collection, which features pieces owned by The Crown and also by the queen as a private individual, is made up of more than one million objects, including tapestries, furniture, ceramics, carriages, armour, jewellery, musical instruments, manuscripts, books and sculptures. That’s before the 7,000 paintings, including many Old Masters, 30,000 watercolours and drawings, about 450,000 photographs and a stamp collection valued at over £100 million.
“The Royal Collection has been formed from the private collections of monarchs over 500 years,” a Royal Collection spokeswoman told The Guardian. “It is held in trust by the Queen as sovereign, however, not as a private individual.”
While some of the Collection is on display to the public in the Picture Gallery and Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, including works by Canaletto, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer, drawings and sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as countless pieces by Faberge, the majority is not.
Displays are changed and themed over the years, but the discovery of a lost Caravaggio in a store room at Hampton Court in 2006 proves that when it comes to public access to the Royal Collection, the surface has barely been scratched.
Here are 5 items and rooms visitors might see more of if larger parts of Buckingham Palace are turned into a museum…
1. 17th-century Japanese Samurai armour
The Japanese collection includes armour, weaponry, porcelain and fans, and is thought to be the most comprehensive in the Western world.
One of the oldest items in the collection is the samurai armour which was sent to King James I by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the military leader who governed Japan on behalf of the imperial family.
The armour was given to the royals soon after the first contact between England and Japan had been made.
2. Twopenny Blue Mauritian stamp
The queen is the fifth monarch to inherit the Royal Philatelic Collection, the centrepiece of which is an extremely rare Twopenny Blue Mauritian stamp from 1847.
Valued at £2 million in a collection worth more than £100m, it was the first stamp to be issued by a colonial post office and was bought at auction by the future King George V in 1904.
3. Faberge Mosaic Egg
The egg was made by the Russian jeweller for Tsar Nicholas II to give to his wife Tsarina Alexandra in 1914.
Made of platinum and gold, and decorated with emeralds, rubies and diamonds, it holds a cameo of the couple's five children inside. Four years later, the family would be killed by the Bolsheviks.
4. The Court Post Office
Not all of Buckingham Palace’s rare treasures are items — some are rooms.
As well as an unseen swimming pool, cinema room, NHS doctor’s surgery and an ATM machine in the basement, Buckingham Palace also has its own post office.
The room hasn’t been seen publicly since 1948, when it was instrumental in dealing with post-wartime communications.
5. Eardley Norton astronomical clock
Bought by George III for his dressing room at Buckingham Palace, the 1765 Eardley Norton clock was cutting-edge technology for its era.
It shows the time at 30 locations across the globe relative to Greenwich Mean Time, an orrery of the solar system, ages and phases of the moon, a year calendar, and high and low water at 32 sea ports.
Scroll through the gallery below to see Queen Elizabeth II's colour-blocking style:
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Honeymoonish
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Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
The%20Roundup
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
