Table Of Content
After their marriage in 1947, it became the residence of Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1953, after the death of her father King George VI (d. 6 February 1952), Princess Elizabeth acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II and moved to Buckingham Palace. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and sister Princess Margaret moved into Clarence House. Harry made a quick visit to his father's Clarence House residence in central London in February, a day after news broke of the king's diagnosis. Although the official London residence of the Prince of Wales, Clarence House to a large extent maintains the arrangement of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who lived here for 50 years. Many of the pieces on display form part of Her Majesty's collection, and are displayed according to her layout.
Queen Camilla attends Royal Maundy Service at Worcester Cathedral
Last week, I was lucky enough to enjoy a private tour of Clarence House, the official London residence of The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. Before Charles and Camilla's residency, Clarence House was the home of Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh following their marriage in 1947 until her accession as Queen in 1952. Charles lived here too between the ages of one and three, and his sister, Princess Anne, was born at Clarence House in August 1950. Prince Charles' office is also housed here and most of the main 'principle' rooms are used for official visits. It is the home to Charles and Camilla and also provides office accommodation for the Prince of Wales's household, who support their Royal Highnesses in their official engagements. It is currently home to the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
New photo of the late Queen with her…
A Brief History of Clarence House, King Charles's True Home - Vanity Fair
A Brief History of Clarence House, King Charles's True Home.
Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The hall upstairs lies on top of the one on the ground floor, meaning that the rooms upstairs are likely in the same proportions above the Morning Room and Dining Room etc. Following her mother’s death, Queen Victoria had the interiors of Clarence House painted to document the interiors and style.Her son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, moved in five years later, in 1866. The initial £10,000 ballooned to a final cost of £22,232, as older buildings were demolished and problems revealed, but also due to Nash’s numerous changes as the building progressed. Clarence House, named after its first occupant, was completed in 1827, incorporating a corner of St James’s. Today, the two are still linked by a corridor on the first floor, being useful for larger receptions and events.
Camilla remembers her father during visit to Royal…
Nevertheless, almost all of his grandmother’s furniture has been accommodated in the house. To mark Prince Charles’ 70th birthday in November 2018, Clarence House used Google’s Street View feature to let the public take a virtual “guided tour” of the royal townhouse. Clarence House may not be among the most famous royal residences, but it is replete with history.
A Look at the 30 Homes Owned by the British Royal Family - Veranda
A Look at the 30 Homes Owned by the British Royal Family.
Posted: Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Royal programmes dominate 2023 festive viewing
The tour of Clarence House begins in the garden, where visitors can see the formal area added by the King in 2004 in memory of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The next residents were the widowed Queen Mother and her younger daughter, Princess Margaret. The princess then moved into Kensington Palace after her marriage to Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon in 1960 whilst the Queen Mother remained at Clarence House until her death in 2002.
During World War II, the house was damaged during The Blitz and after the death of the Duke of Connaught in 1942, it was used by the Red Cross and the St John’s Ambulance Brigade for the remainder of the war. After the Prince and Princess of Wales separated in 1995, the Prince moved from Kensington Palace into St James’s, and after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002 it was decided that the Prince should take up residence in Clarence House. Two bedroom suites were created and a nursery laid out; the house was rewired and central heating installed; there were new kitchens and a lift. Prince Philip requested a cinema in the basement and was prepared to bear the cost himself if the Treasury would not pay – he was saved from this by the cinema industry, which offered to present a screen, seats and projectors as a wedding gift. Although the Ministry of Works oversaw the restoration, the Prince and Princess were extremely closely involved, specifying work and supervising progress. Both the Ministry and the Royal Household had a close eye on the budget, with all works being categorised as either war damage, backlog maintenance or improvement.
When did Prince Harry last visit the UK?
In the Dining Room, for instance, the Georgian dining table and 20 ladder-back chairs were the gift of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, while the mahogany sideboard and four side tables were a present from Queen Mary. “In the Duke of Clarence's time the Lancaster Room, the first room off the Hall, was the Equerry's Room and has served as a waiting room for visitors ever since. The Morning Room was originally designed as the breakfast room,” says the Royal Collection. The room, situated off the entrance hall, boasts large windows and antique bookcases filled with volumes on topics such as gardening, art and painting. The late Queen Mother lived there for half a century until her death, when Prince Charles had the home remodelled and moved in the following year.
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother had it converted into her Morning Room, which is how it remains today, almost exactly as she left it. The Lancaster Room today is used as a sitting room for guests, waiting to be received by Prince Charles or Camilla, and features many photos of visiting Heads of State, including European Kings and Queens, as well as American Presidents. After their marriage, Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh moved into Clarence House, though it was in need of renovation, including the repair of bomb damage.
However, after The Queen Mother died, Prince Charles requested the standard, to display it at Clarence House; it now hands proudly at the far end of the hall, next to the stairs – an homage to his dear grandmother. Charles revived the position of the official harpist in 2000, and currently employs Anne Denholm for the job. This harp bears emblems of Wales, as harps are designed for their owners, using symbols and imagery fitting to the lives – in this case, the three feathers and leeks. The Queen Mother had this room created by removing a partition of two smaller rooms during her tenure at Clarence House, in 1960. The red wallpapered Horse Corridor, so-called because the walls are adorned with images of horses and the sides with ornaments, leads through to the Garden Room, sometimes called the Cornwall Room. The couple had the house refitted; they added the fireplace in the Lancaster Room, which a gift from the people of Lancashire, who had raised money for Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding, and the room was named after the county people.
Four gilt-bronze statuettes of Bavarian rulers, by After Ludwig Schwanthaler, sit on top of the bookcases.They are part of a set of 12 statue reductions presented to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert on her birthday in 1843. The remaining statues from the set can be found in The Dining Room and Lancaster Room. These pieces come from the 'King of Hanover' dinner service of Worcester porcelain (c.1795) and are displayed in a cabinet in The Entrance Hall, on the ground floor of Clarence House. "The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have now made it into their home, so it reflects their taste," Jones explains.
Charles and Camilla have been residents of Clarence House for almost 20 years, having lived there since 2003. There is currently a 10-year renovation project in the works to keep the building fit for the future. Clarence House, which stands adjacent to St James's Palace, was the official London residence of the former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall – now King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort. The ground floor of Clarence House contains the more public rooms where numerous functions and meetings are held; the first floor is a bit more private, and also contains much of the office space for the staff. The second floor contains the private apartment of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and the third floor contains the apartment which was shared by Prince William and Prince Harry. The following year, after some renovations, The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret moved into Clarence House.
The closest available facilities are in St James’s Park (run by Royal Parks), opposite the visitor entrance to Clarence House. As Clarence House is a working royal palace, security and opening arrangements may be subject to change at short notice. All visits to Clarence House are by guided tour with a Warden, lasting 45 minutes. The Garden Room is also home to a number of framed family photographs from Their Royal Highnesses' personal collection, many of which sit on top of the piano.This photograph of The Duchess of Cornwall was also taken in The Garden Room.
It was here that all foreign Heads of State would call on the Queen Mother for tea on the first day of their State Visits. After Princess Margaret married and moved to Kensington Palace in 1960, The Queen Mother renovated some of the ground floor, combining two smaller rooms to create the Garden Room which allowed for entertaining larger groups of guests. It was at Clarence House where Lady Diana Spencer took up residence on the eve of her engagement to The Prince of Wales, and where she lived until their wedding in 1981. After Alfred’s death in 1900, Clarence House became the London home of his younger brother, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and his wife, the former Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. The Duchess of Connaught died at Clarence House in 1917, and the house remained the Duke’s London residence until his death in 1942.
Exclusive guided tours, which are small groups and include a glass of champagne, are also normally available at £35, but this summer have already sold out. Patterned carpets and antique furniture fill the reception rooms, yet just give the feel of a well lived-in family home, denoted by the many, smiling photographs. Prince George playing with his grandfather feature heavily, as do photos of William and Harry. The Dining Room is accessed through the double doors in the library, or from the hall.
At the end of your visit, don’t forget to ask a Warden to stamp your ticket to convert it into a 1-Year Pass. You can enjoy free re-admission for a year by asking us to treat your ticket purchase as a donation. In consideration of other visitors mobile phones must be switched off in Clarence House and its grounds. Photography and filming including the use of wearable devices for personal, non-commercial purposes are not permitted in Clarence House or its grounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment