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With Princess Elizabeth’s accession as Queen, the royal couple moved to Buckingham Palace. The collection was particularly strong in 20th-century British art, embracing important works by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, WS Sickert and Augustus John. She also purchased superb examples of Fabergé, English porcelain and silver, particularly pieces relating to the Bowes-Lyon family.The Queen Mother greatly enjoyed hosting luncheons and evening receptions at Clarence House. All foreign Heads of State called there for tea in the afternoon of the first day of a State Visit. Clarence House was built between 1825 and 1827 to the designs of John Nash as the new London home of George III’s third son, Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence and his wife Adelaide (the future WIlliam IV).
Visiting Clarence House
The front entrance used to be in this room, but was then rearranged to the end of the corridor, which stretches the entire length of the house, in the 1870s. This entrance gives the residents more privacy, and is concealed behind large black gates, also known as the Birthday Gates, as The Queen Mother would greet members of the public on her birthday with members of the Royal Family. 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. 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. The closest available facilities are in St James’s Park (run by Royal Parks), opposite the visitor entrance to Clarence House.
Who lived in Clarence House?
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Since the 1940s alone, the grand stucco townhouse on The Mall has been the home of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen Mother and princes William and Harry. Lisa Joyner is the Senior Digital Writer at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market.
The most famous royal diamonds of all
Sign up to e-mail updates for the latest news, exclusive events and 15% off in our online shop. During World War II, Clarence House suffered damage by enemy bombing during The Blitz (1940–1941). Following the death of the Duke of Connaught in 1942, it was used by the Red Cross and the St John Ambulance Brigade as their headquarters during the rest of World War II. Discover the stories behind Clarence House's garden in the Royal Collection by clicking on the items below.
Prince Harry visits cancer-stricken King Charles at Clarence House after arriving in UK without Meghan Markle - Page Six
Prince Harry visits cancer-stricken King Charles at Clarence House after arriving in UK without Meghan Markle.
Posted: Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Some items, including large items of baggage, backpacks, pushchairs, pen-knives and scissors will have to be checked in and reclaimed at the end of the visit. For safety and security reasons, a one-way system operates along the visitor route. Prince William lived at Clarence House until his marriage in 2011, and Prince Harry until 2012. The Duke of Clarence, who in 1830 became King William IV, commissioned the building and preferred to live there, rather than the nearby St James's Palace, because he found the latter too cramped.
King Charles authorises research into royal links to…
Her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and sister Princess Margaret moved into Clarence House. Over the years, it has undergone much extensive remodelling and reconstruction, most notably after being heavily damaged in the Second World War by enemy bombing during The Blitz. It is Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England.[1] The house is open to visitors for about one month each summer, usually in August. Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the royal Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV. 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.
The Library was used by The Queen Mother for intimate dinners when she lived in the house. The Dining Room is enhanced with gilding and ceiling decoration from the early 1900s. The Garden Room was created from two rooms which Princess Margaret lived in before her marriage. In 1841, Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, settled into the royal residence; she'd call it home until passing away in the 1860s. A few years after that, Victoria's second son, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, moved in.
Private sitting rooms lie on the first floor, with bedrooms and offices for the Royal Couple, and officially, Prince Harry (though he lives at Kensington Palace), on the second and third floors; staff rooms are also situated at the top of the house. 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. The central window actually opens up completely to create a door to the garden, which many visitors have used to take a tour of the garden, or attend a reception outdoors. A baby grand piano sits in the corner too, with numerous family photos on its surface.
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. Here, Prince Charles regularly greets guests, occasionally Heads of State and their families, and it is the main sitting room for guests, with large, worn, but comfortable sofas, and lovely views out to the garden.
They used to be limited to aristocracy, but today are chosen from a variety of backgrounds, in recognition of their public service. "The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have now made it into their home, so it reflects their taste," Jones explains. Through the main entrance, visitors find themselves in this grand Entrance Hall, adorned with art. After their marriage in 1947, Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh moved into Clarence House. Following the death of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI in 1952, she acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II and moved into Buckingham Palace. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and her younger sister, Princess Margaret moved into Clarence House.
These include the Lancaster Room, which has served as a waiting room for visitors to Clarence House; the Morning Room, where residents of the house would be served breakfast; the Library; the Dining Room and the Garden Room. Taken several years before the Queen Mother’s birth, it was designed by Clarence House’s renowned British architect John Nash and, at the time of this photo, had existed for over seven decades. Others include a portrait of a sleeping George Bernard Shaw (seen in the top right of the Morning Room photo), George V and his racing manager (top left), drawings of her corgis, animals by Landseer, and portraits of herself and her family. These can be found across the house, including informal images sent to her as gifts (see below). 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 room, situated off the entrance hall, boasts large windows and antique bookcases filled with volumes on topics such as gardening, art and painting.
The Prince paid a further £1.6 million from his own funds for internal redecoration and arrangement. Having taken such care in decorating their new house, the royal couple had every expectation of a long residence, but the early death of King George VI in 1952 changed that. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was only 52, now needed to vacate Buckingham Palace and she was assigned Clarence House, a building she thought ‘loathsome’. 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. Nevertheless, almost all of his grandmother’s furniture has been accommodated in the house. Clarence House has remained a working royal residence since it was built almost 200 years ago.
The Palace will remain the administrative headquarters for the monarchy and the location of state events during this time. Margaret would later move into an apartment in Kensington Palace in 1960 while The Queen Mother continued to call Clarence House her home until her death in March 2002. Shortly after, in 2003, King Charles III, who was then the Prince of Wales moved in. Clarence House became the official residence of Prince William from 2003 until April 2011 and of Prince Harry from 2003 until March 2012.
From receptions to royal Christmas parties, the house has opened its doors to a host of guests over the years. It is used as a waiting room for visitors to the house, and is home to eight watercolours of Windsor Castle, painted by John Piper during the early 1940s. The arrangement of the rooms and the groupings of their contents remain much as they were in Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s time, with important works from Her Majesty’s collection of art in their original positions. A tour of the House includes five rooms on the ground floor where official engagements are undertaken. The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity.
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