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Queen Consort Camilla is to keep using her privately-owned home in Wiltshire.
The 75-year-old royal bought six-bedroom Ray Mill in Wiltshire – which is just a short distance from her husband King Charles’ private residence Highgrove – over 25 years ago after she divorced first husband Andrew Parker Bowles and enjoys the relaxed surroundings away from official residences, and she has no plans to sell the “treasured” abode because it allows her to truly switch off from public duties.
A source told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: “If you consider that Highgrove is the most relaxed of the King’s residences, even there you are always surrounded by a team of private staff including a chef, a butler and police on every corner, so there is no true private time.
“The King has grown up with that all of his life, so it’s not such a burden for him to exist in that observed world, but the Queen Consort has spent most of her life as a private citizen – so she understands the meaning of shutting your front door and having a place to yourself.
“Ray Mill is the only place where she can literally and metaphorically kick off her shoes and spend time with family and friends in a really informal setting.
“It’s an escape from royal life and it will be treasured even more greatly now.”
According to the outlet, royal staff also see a practical side to Camilla keeping Ray Mill – where she retreated to last week during a break from official duties following the death of Queen Elizabeth – because if she were to outlive her husband, she would be able to return to Ray Mill without causing difficulties for his successor, Prince William.
It also gives her a property she can pass on to her own children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.
Charles and Camilla are currently staying on the Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the queen died last month. The king is expected to spend time at Birkhall, the large house on the estate he inherited from the Queen Mother and what he is said to view as his “true home”.
As well as Highgrove, Charles also owns a large cottage in Wales and has inherited the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, which were privately owned by the queen.
In addition, as monarch, Charles has the use of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and Hillsborough Castle near Belfast.
Many other royal residences, including Clarence House, Kensington Palace, and St. James’s Palace, also belong to him in his capacity as king.
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