King Charles Sought Palace Aides’ Help to Buy $5M Property Next to Queen Camilla: Report
Queen Camilla's Ray Mill House was at risk of being overlooked by a busy wedding venue, prompting the King to find a quick solution.
Despite having access to over 14 royal residences and privately owning three properties, King Charles has reportedly enlisted two senior palace staff to help him buy a home next to Queen Camilla's private sanctuary. According to a new report, the monarch tapped James Chalmers and Catherine James to secure a $5M property near Camilla's Ray Mill House. The reason? Charles is said to be wary of his wife's beloved 'divorce home' being overlooked by a bustling wedding venue, prompting a rather handy solution.
As reported by Newsweek, Camilla's privacy at Ray Mill was at risk owing to the sale of The Old Mill on a neighboring plot in Reybridge, near Lacock. The ownership of Ray Mill has been of significant importance to her, as she purchased it in 1996 following her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles. To safeguard his wife's privacy, Charles had an easy solution: to purchase The Old Mill to prevent it from being turned into a wedding ground. Additionally, The Daily Mail reported that the sale, which was run through a private company, Frisa Nominees Ltd, was set up by James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King, and Catherine James, of the Private Secretaries' Office at Buckingham Palace.
Moreover, Charles is listed on Britain's Companies House as a "person with significant control," described in documentation as "His Most Gracious Majesty King Charles The Third." His decision has raised questions about why publicly funded Buckingham Palace employees were being used to secure a property purely to prevent wedding guests from lurking around. Weighing in on Charles's thought-process, a source said, "The increasing use of the neighboring property as a commercial holiday enterprise, with guests coming and going just the other side of the fence, was therefore a cause of mounting concern and great personal anxiety to The Queen."
Against that backdrop, the insider continued, "The new arrangement is a pragmatic solution, being both a sound financial investment and a way of maintaining Her Majesty's privacy, protection and continued enjoyment of her much-loved home, without any public funds being used." They further stressed, "I know how grateful and relieved she [Camilla] is, not least given all the additional stresses and anxieties of the past year." When contacted to comment on the March 7 purchase, Buckingham Palace refused to respond.
Raymill House is also known as the Queen's 'post-divorce' home. According to Woman & Home, it is just fifteen minutes from Charles' beloved Highgrove House and remains a completely separate residence from the rest of the royal family. At the time, she reportedly paid £850,000 (now around $1,100,000) for the countryside bolthole, which features a range of luxurious amenities including an outdoor swimming pool, a terrace, stables, and plush gardens. It is the same property where she posed for her 78th birthday portraits, shared on the royal family's official social media pages.
