In news that has me booking the next flight to Scotland (and seeking a fiancé), King Charles is reportedly looking to rent out a section of his family’s Balmoral palace as a wedding venue for members of the general public.
According to multiple outlets, the British head of state has submitted plans to free-up part of the Scottish castle as an exclusive location for weddings, allowing non-royal folk like us (I’m assuming no Windsors are reading this) to host lavish nuptials befitting a prince and princess.
King Charles is specifically looking to allocate the Queen’s Building, just a stone’s throw away from the historic Balmoral Castle, as a space for “weddings, dinners, meetings and associated events.” The Queen’s Building, located near the stables of the Balmoral estate (you know, rich people things), was built in the 1980s as a staff quarters, but King Charles has now submitted plans to the local council to expand how the space is used.
The application also requests permission to play music and sell alcohol until 3AM at the venue (palace party, anyone?), but stipulates that these kinds of “events will be rare throughout the year.” The local council still needs to approve the application, but I imagine that when staff receive a proposal from the literal king, they’ll promptly give him the all-clear.
It has been reported that the king’s move to rent out the castle is an attempt to offset the cost of up-keep, which exceeds $3.5 million every year, including around $1 million on staff who maintain the estate. Balmoral Castle, first purchased by Queen Victoria in the mid-19th century, is best known as the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s favorite royal palace (imagine having more than one to choose from), and it was also where she passed away in 2022.
In a change of tradition, Balmoral was also the place where Queen Elizabeth appointed then-Prime Minister Liz Truss, as opposed to the Buckingham Palace site where Truss’ predecessors had been appointed.
Since Queen Elizabeth’s death, King Charles has ramped up efforts to gradually open up the castle to the public, bringing in 75,000 visitors and earning over $650,000 in ticket sales every year. The application reassures the local council that its requests will have “no prospect of neighbours being disturbed” by noise, and that the volume of events will be kept at a low level (party pooper, much?).
While allowing members of the public to get this close to royalty might seem like a change of pace for the Windsors, King Charles has apparently had plans for a Balmoral revamp for many years. Royal author Robert Hardman predicted in his book Charles III. New King. New Court. The Inside Story, that the King had “ambitious plans for the grounds,” and was already eager to begin work on the castle’s hedge maze soon after his accession.
Naturally, the plans to expand Balmoral Castle have welcomed public scrutiny as to the Royal Family’s financial state, but reports indicate that it is more an effort to compensate for the upkeep than turn a profit. Besides, with multiple palaces, crowns and thrones at their disposal, it hardly seems like the Royal Family are in any kind of financial strife. So, what’s next on the agenda for me is a palatial wedding with armed guards and hedge mazes, but I guess I need to find a husband first.