King Charles may gift Balmoral to Scotland as he reportedly takes 'entrepreneurial' approach to family's palaces

He was only proclaimed king during a meeting of the Accession Council at St James Palace hours ago, but it seems King Charles III is already planning to change the way the royal family use their palaces and residences.

As the new Head of State following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles now dictates which of his family and its extended members will live at the various state-owned estates in the UK.

According to The Telegraph, the monarch will likely take a more "entrepreneurial" approach than his mother, who allowed her family to reside at the residences as she did during her reign.

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The Queen split her time between four main residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham. Following her death, these palatial homes are now left in Charles' control, as well as Clarence House, Highgrove, Birkhall, Kensington Palace and other residences used by other members of the royal family.

However, The Telegraph reports Charles is not interested in using all the residences available to him. It's believed he may open Balmoral up to the public all year round, rather than the four months it is available for tourists to visit. Or he could gift Balmoral – where his mother died on September 8 – to Scotland altogether.

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Likewise, Charles could also extend the annual opening period of Buckingham Palace to bring in more money for the building's maintenance, and allow charities and other organisations to rent the public rooms for events.

"He will use Buckingham Palace because he knows that is his duty," a royal aide told the outlet. "But he might choose to use fewer rooms and open up more of the building to the public."

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"What does that mean in terms of him hanging on to massive buildings? He has gifted Dumfries House to the Scottish nation. What that means for some of those other buildings, I don't know, but you can see the logic," the aide added. 

Royal biographer Penny Junor said the move will likely be an attempt to reduce maintenance costs.

"I think he might bring in more income from the royal assets because he is quite an entrepreneur," she told The Telegraph. "If he allowed more visitors into Balmoral that would be a good earner."