Clarence House

[Princejohnny25]

I thought they had apartments at Saint James Palace which is right next or connected to Clarence House.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by Princejonnhy25

I thought they had apartments at Saint James Palace which is right next or connected to Clarence House.

I think York House and Clarence House are situated within the walls of St James Palace. I might be wrong, but I think these two mansions are their own separate houses, but are inside the property grounds of St James Palace.
I also think a section of York House was made available for William and Harry some years ago.

I love the pics some have posted of Clarence House, especially the hallway in which the portrait of King George III looms. It's a lovely corridor. I wonder if it's the corridor that opens out onto the garden?

[Will's princess]

Does Camilla have her own set of rooms or does she simply share a room with Prince Charles?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Will's princess

Does Camilla have her own set of rooms or does she simply share a room with Prince Charles?

I don't think these sort of details are disclosed as very few Royals (or other public figures for that matter) choose to share their intimate living arrangements with the general public. We do know they share a house or two, or three. Isn't that enough?

[CasiraghiTrio]

On this video you can see the Prince of Wales working at his desk in Clarence House. You can see a bit of the study where he works.
There is also this picture which GrandDuchess added in post 10. It shows the Prince's study. It comes from the Prince's official site as well.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Clarence House in 1949/1950 when it was the official London residence for Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh
Source: Getty/Hulton Archive
The Garden view of the house
The Lancaster Room
The Dining Room The Dining Room 2 The Dining Room 3
The Dining Room walls were lined with paintings of George III and his many children. The house was used by Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later William IV). Nearby York House was used by another son of George III, Prince Ernest Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland, who later became King of Hanover.
The Duke of Edinburgh's sitting room
Princess Elizabeth's sitting room
The first floor Drawing Room
The Library
That rug in front of the fireplace!

As for the private apartments of the family, I think the Prince and Duchess have their apartments on the main floor while Prince William and Prince Harry have suites on the top floor. It's just a guess based on the usual practice for these kinds of great houses. I imagine each of them has their own suite, probably adjacent sitting room and bedroom with dressing room and bath, and perhaps the young Princes have a kitchen each or one they share in the top floor.

[Royal Fan]

Wonder if King Charles will live there and where will William and Harry live

[CasiraghiTrio]

I love CH. It's so stately but at the same time it has the feel of a home too. It seems like a nice place to live. I would rather live at CH than BP if I had the choice, though I suppose I could make do at BP....

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Royal Fan

Wonder if King Charles will live there and where will William and Harry live

I would be surprised if KIng Charles lived at Clarence House. I have read in the past that Charles would spend far more time at Windsor than the Queen currently does. Also, Charles is well know for his love of grandeur, and I doubt will pass up on the opportunity to live at BP

[Duchess]

i may be wrong about this but i understand that the RF don't particularly like BP and only use it as an "office". they prefer their own "homes" - HM like Windsor Castle and now that Charles is in CH i suppose he prefers it there. anyone have anymore details about this?

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by Duchess

i may be wrong about this but i understand that the RF don't particularly like BP and only use it as an "office". they prefer their own "homes" - HM like Windsor Castle and now that Charles is in CH i suppose he prefers it there. anyone have anymore details about this?

Yes, I think Prince Philip once compared living at BP to "living above the shop".

[selrahc4]

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh wanted to stay living at Clarence House and use Buckingham Palace for their daily workplace when she became Queen. Prime Minister Churchill insisted that the monarch must reside at Buckingham Palace.

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Yes, I think Prince Philip once compared living at BP to "living above the shop".

"CasiraghiTrio" - if you'd tell me the name you prefer to be called (as long as it's polite ), I'll forget about any former association with persons who are known by the name of Casiraghi... PM me if you wish.

As for BP being just the "office" - isn't the official seat of the offices St. James' palace? At least the ambassadours are presented to the "Court of St. James" as this was the official residence of the souverain till one of the Georges bought Buckingham Palace (which had originally been built as townhouse for the Duke of Buckingham during the reign of Charles II.) in 1837 and moved there.

So I guess Charles could stay at Clarence House and use the rooms and offices in St. James' P or BP as king, if he so prefered. It would make sense, too, as BP will need renovations of the private appartments while CH is already exactly as Charles and Camilla like it.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

"CasiraghiTrio" - if you'd tell me the name you prefer to be called (as long as it's polite ), I'll forget about any former association with persons who are known by the name of Casiraghi... PM me if you wish.

Casiraghi or CT is fine. It's just easier to keep the name, keep it simple (or "keep it simple stupid" like some say)

As for BP being just the "office" - isn't the official seat of the offices St. James' palace? At least the ambassadours are presented to the "Court of St. James" as this was the official residence of the souverain till one of the Georges bought Buckingham Palace (which had originally been built as townhouse for the Duke of Buckingham during the reign of Charles II.) in 1837 and moved there.

I never remember which George bought BP either. I think it might have been George III who bought it,and let Queen Charlotte use it entirely to herself, and then George IV hated it, as did William IV, if I remember. Then I suppose Queen Empress Vicky rather appreciated it as a good place to do business, and the rest is ancient history. The British Monarchy site says BP became the official London seat for the Monarch in 1837, the same year Victoria became Queen.

So I guess Charles could stay at Clarence House and use the rooms and offices in St. James' P or BP as king, if he so prefered. It would make sense, too, as BP will need renovations of the private appartments while CH is already exactly as Charles and Camilla like it.

It's interesting how much BP has become synonymous with the British monarchy, even with the diplomatic symbol being the "Court of St. James". However, I wouldn't put it past Charles to take the Court back to St. James in effect. Whomever is PM at the time of his Accession is more likely than not to be indifferent as to where the Court resides officially. Yet these kinds of matters are always being influenced by the politics of the day. It may be so that Churchill insisted on the new Queen's court going to BP in order to present a strong image for the monarchy in the face of Cold War politics. Who knows?

[Duchess]

these two according to wikipedia...

The name is now usually used only when accrediting and receiving ambassadors.

and:

The court is often incorrectly described as the "Court of St. James".

[CasiraghiTrio]

Look here: Picture of a hall in Clarence House (ABACA)
You can see two portraits here. On the left, surely the late Queen Mother as a young Lady Elizabeth or Duchess of York. On the right, ?? Does anyone know?
Maybe.......... Princess Margaret or The Queen? The hairstyle reminds me more of The Queen.

[msleiman]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Look here: Picture of a hall in Clarence House (ABACA)
You can see two portraits here. On the left, surely the late Queen Mother as a young Lady Elizabeth or Duchess of York. On the right, ?? Does anyone know?
Maybe.......... Princess Margaret or The Queen? The hairstyle reminds me more of The Queen.

That is the Queen.

[PrincessofEurope]

when i did the tour of Clarence House there was a framed picture of Queen Sonja of Norway and one of the other tourists asked was that a picture of the Queen Mother i was shocked

the tour is quite short as you see only a few rooms either 4 or 5 cannot quite remember there are lots of small family pics of william and harry when they were young and of course lots of the queen mum, in the rooms the bookcases and the layout of the books (ie the colour of the spines) reflects the decor of the rooms

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by branchg

Actually, I believe Princes William and Harry have their own apartments at York House.

I believe they used to have apartments at YH, but they have long since moved over to CH. Remember that The Princess Royal now has apartments in YH (she used to be at BP but no more) and it seems that some other members of the RF, I think perhaps The Duke of Kent, maintain offices at YH too.

[BellaFay]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

I believe they used to have apartments at YH, but they have long since moved over to CH. Remember that The Princess Royal now has apartments in YH (she used to be at BP but no more) and it seems that some other members of the RF, I think perhaps The Duke of Kent, maintain offices at YH too.

Yes, in fact a lot of York House is used now as offices for the Royal Collection Trust staff, so I can't imagine it also houses private apartments for Princes William & Harry.