Buckingham Palace released a video unveiling new lifts installed as part of its £369million refurbishment, highlighting the building’s ongoing transformation from royal residence into a more publicly accessible landmark.
The footage, shared on the Royal Family’s social media, showed accessibility upgrades delivered through the decade-long Reservicing Programme, which has also replaced outdated electrical wiring, plumbing and heating systems.
The Palace’s Instagram caption read: “New lifts open at Buckingham Palace! As well as replacing core building services, the Reservicing Programme has completed lots of improvements to accessibility since it began in 2017.”
With the renovation due for completion next year, the King has confirmed he will not take up residence at the Palace, opting instead to remain at Clarence House, his London home nearby.
Buckingham Palace released a video unveiling new lifts installed as part of its £369million refurbishment, highlighting the building’s ongoing transformation from royal residence into a more publicly accessible landmark
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PA
The Palace had served as the sovereign’s principal London home since Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, a tradition spanning nearly two centuries.
When the refurbishment began in 2017, officials fully anticipated that King Charles would continue that convention once the work was finished.
That expectation has since been abandoned. Earlier this year, Palace officials confirmed the monarch would not return to live there after the renovation concludes.
Neither Charles nor the late Queen Elizabeth had spent a night at the Palace since 2019, though the King will retain private rooms that could serve as occasional accommodation.
🛗 New lifts open at Buckingham Palace!
As well as replacing core building services, the Reservicing Programme has completed lots of improvements to accessibility since it began in 2017. 👩🦼➡️
Watch the full film: https://t.co/ld1vbZCMbL pic.twitter.com/F1d9Fr9rOm
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) August 3, 2026
Prince William has similarly displayed little to no enthusiasm for making the Palace his permanent home when he eventually succeeds his father on the throne.
His reluctance to reside there raises the prospect that the iconic building may never again function as a family residence, instead serving exclusively as a ceremonial and administrative hub.
Should that trajectory hold, Buckingham Palace’s role would be fundamentally redefined, shifting permanently from the domestic heart of the monarchy to a working headquarters and public attraction, a departure that would have been unthinkable when the refurbishment was first commissioned nine years ago.
Royal Collection Trust staff with paintings on display in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London, which has undergone a once-in-a-generation re-display
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PA
Prince William has displayed little to no enthusiasm for making Buckingham Palace his permanent home
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PA
With the private apartments no longer occupied by a resident monarch, plans are afoot to open far more of the Palace to the public beyond the traditional summer window.
Currently, some 700,000 people pass through the building each year, and Chalmers has indicated that public access will be expanded, though specifics have yet to be disclosed.