Many British subjects and other people in Commonwealth nations will be preparing to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s (II of England, I of Scotland) Platinum Jubilee. While many will be cheering, or toasting, at street parties or in homes, the Jubilee also brings forward those less keen on the monarchy.
There are different reasons why others seek an elected Head of State, be that the Royal prerogative misused by successive Prime Ministers or due to concern about the high levels of public subsidy paid out to an already wealthy family.
To highlight this latter point research from property experts can be drawn upon. McCarthy Stone, in a communication to Digital Journal, have provided valuations and this estimates the worth of the UK’s royal residences have reached £3 billion. This is after property prices in the U.K. escalated over the past few years.
The research suggests the cost to rent each property, put a deposit on a mortgage and the time needed to save up for a royal residence. What is interesting here is that few of the residences are owned by the Queen, the majority are, nominally at least, within the public sector.
Notably, the Queen’s primary (and preferred) residence Windsor Castle is worth £580 million. This is after a 23 percent increase in value since 2019. Taking another residency, Buckingham Palace’s worth increased by £100 million since before the pandemic. Buckingham Palace is the priciest property occupied by the Queen. It is estimated to be worth £1.3 billion.
The top ten are shown in the following table:
| Royal property | Estimated cost to buy | Average property cost in the location | Estimated cost to rent (per calendar month) | Average UK wage after tax | Years needed to save for 15% deposit on UK’s average wage after tax | |
| 1 | Buckingham Palace | £1.3bn | £799,974 | £2.6m | £24,580 | 7,933 |
| 2 | St James’s Palace | £600m | £799,974 | £1.7m | £24,580 | 3,661 |
| 3 | Windsor Castle | £580m | £538,057 | £1.7m | £24,580 | 3,539 |
| 4 | Kensington Palace | £558.2m | £799,974 | £179,400 | £24,580 | 3,406 |
| 5 | Clarence House | £298.3m | £799,974 | £89,700 | £24,580 | 1,820 |
| 6 | Hillsborough Castle | £70m | £159,151 | £72,700 | £24,580 | 427 |
| 7 | Balmoral Castle | £60.3m | £198,880 | £500,000 | £24,580 | 367 |
| 8 | Sandringham House | £55.1m | £277,321 | £78,300 | £24,580 | 336 |
| 9 | Palace of Holyrood House | £55.1m | £310,281 | £165,000 | £24,580 | 336 |
| 10 | The Royal Lodge | £35m | £538,057 | £54,000 | £24,580 | 213 |
The second most expensive property is St James’s Palace, priced at £600 million. This is closely followed by £580 million Windsor Castle. Fourth spot is taken by Kensington Palace, which comprises of multiple apartments (one of these is lived in by Prince William, who resides in Apartment 1A with his wife and children). London-based Clarence House comes in at £298.3m to complete the top five.
Overall, the royal property portfolio is worth some £3.7 billion.
In terms of hypothetical rental costs, Buckingham Palace’s location, alongside the sheer size and historical value, could see a prospective tenant paying an estimated £2.6 million per month in rent for this locale. Estimated rental costs at Windsor House and St James’s Palace are also amongst the highest on the royal property roster, at around £1.7 million per month.
To give some scale to the figures, Thatched House Lodge, a pillar of Richmond Park and one of the more modest royal properties at £1.2 million, would require a mortgage of £182,000, whilst £195 million would be a 15 percent deposit for a mortgage for Buckingham Palace. The figures presented show, for those on average salaries, what this would mean in terms of saving up for a deposit.
All of this is hypothetical, and designed to be an interesting way of marking the Jubilee events. These properties are not for sale and their value to the British nation is beyond any calculation that can be meaningfully be made.
