Queen to ‘leave’ Buckingham Palace and make Windsor her permanent home

Her Majesty has lived at Windsor Castle throughout the pandemic

It has been reported that the Queen will never live in London again, after making Windsor Castle her permanent residence for the past two years.

Her Majesty and Prince Philip moved to the Berkshire residence at the beginning of the pandemic, before Philip’s death in April last year.

The Queen has spent the past two Christmases at Windsor, because of Covid regulations, and now the monarch is said to have “no plans” to return to Buckingham Palace.

As The Sunday Times reports, this means the next royals to take up residence in Buckingham Palace will be the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, when the time comes for Prince Charles to be king.

Royal author Hugo Vickers told the newspaper that Windsor is the place the Queen “loves”. He added: “She has her memories with Prince Philip there, she has her ponies there and family nearby. It makes sense.”

Windsor is a short drive from Bagshot Park, where Prince Edward lives, while Prince Andrew resides at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The Queen spent much of her childhood at Windsor, with her father and mother, then the Duke and Duchess of York, who were gifted the Royal Lodge by her grandfather, King George V, when the young Elizabeth was five years old.

Initially used as a weekend retreat during the Second World War, the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret moved to Windsor Castle as it was considered to be safer than London.

Royal biographer Christopher Warwick told the BBC in 2016 that Windsor “was a place that was very much home to the Queen and to her sister for a very long time, and that cemented the emotions and attachment that she has to a place she loves dearly”.

Windsor is also where Prince Philip is buried. When the Queen dies, the pair will be buried together in Windsor, in King George VI’s memorial chapel.

The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.