Life on Britain's most expensive street: Residents and businesses in London's ... trends now
Residents and and business owners have revealed what life is like on Britain's most expensive street, with an average £9.63million asking price - and where King Charles is their neighbour.
Buckingham Gate in central London was this week named as having the nation's highest average asking price of £9,633,333, according to online property firm Rightmove.
The next highest average asking price was found in Vicarage Gate in Holland Park in west London, at £6,332,000.
The road - which runs from Buckingham Palace to busy Victoria Street in the heart of Westminster - features a mixture of houses, flats, embassies, shops and cafés.
Retiree David Rodgers, 86, who has owned his home on Buckingham Gate for the past 25 years, said he was surprised by the news that the street is nation's most expensive.
Buckingham Gate in central London was this week named as having the nation's highest average asking price of £9,633,333
'It's very quiet at night': Retiree David Rodgers, 86, who has owned his home on Buckingham Gate for the past 25 years, was surprised by the news that the street is nation's most expensive
'Great for business': Prasanna Callaghan, 47, owns Crumpets Café, which he says is the closest eatery to Buckingham Palace
Mr Rodgers said: 'I didn't expect that. I would have assumed it would have been somewhere in Chelsea, or Knightsbridge, or even in the City.
'But I'm very happy here. It's easy to get everywhere, particularly convenient when coming home after the theatre.
'It's very quiet at night, there's no traffic. And there's a new Marks and Spencer around the corner, which is great.
'Things are also better since they started closing the road for the Changing of the Guard.
'Now, we don't have 20 tourist buses here like we used to, so that's an improvement.'
Prasanna Callaghan owns Crumpets Café, which he says is the closest eatery to Buckingham Palace and the location is 'great for business'.
He said he was surprised to hear Buckingham Gate was the most expensive place to buy a home - as the street seemed to have a few drawbacks from a residential perspective.
Mr Callaghan, 47, said: 'Even though it's great for business, I wouldn't personally want to live here. There are crowds all the time.
'Unless you're only spending a couple of months a year here, which is what I think a lot of the residents do.
'Surely no one local is going to be able to afford to buy here.'
However, he said the location was perfect for a café, explaining: 'We're the best location because we are so close to Buckingham Palace. This is the heart of whatever is happening in London.
'Sometimes, we don't reap all the rewards as the road is closed for anything huge, like the Queen's funeral or King's coronation, but we have our regulars.
'We get a lot of business from the soldiers from Wellington Barracks just around the back, and people who work in the area. Plus of course the steady stream of tourists.'
Buckingham Gate is home to Prime Dry Cleaners, which has been in the family of owner Qasim Ziea, 32, since 2007
Buckingham Gate in Central London residents have King Charles III as one of their neighbours
A view of St James' Court on Buckingham Gate, the most expensive street in the UK
Buckingham Gate - which runs from Buckingham Palace to busy Victoria Street in the heart of Westminster - features a mixture of houses, flats, embassies, shops and cafés
One estate agent thinks Buckingham Gate's number one spot may have been skewed by a recent £45million listing (pictured)
A living room in a property on Buckingham Gate - which is on the market for £45million
Buckingham Gate is home to Prime Dry Cleaners, which has been in the family of owner Qasim Ziea, 32, since 2007.
Mr Ziea said Buckingham Gate was 'a perfect location business-wise'. 'It's so central and close to everything famous in London.
'In terms of clients, we get people who work at the palace, like butlers, or soldiers who live at Wellington Barracks.
'We also get some well-off customers from the nearby hotels, and we've had a few famous clients, such as Rishi Sunak back when he was Chancellor.'
Mr Ziea added that his family are 'very happy' about the skyrocketing prices - and they are often asked to sell.
He said: 'It was expensive at the time, but prices have obviously more than doubled since then.
'We often have people approaching
