Inside King Charles and Queen Camilla's main residence Clarence House
They've lived there for over 20 yearsKing Charles and Queen Camilla always have rooms at Buckingham Palace; however, it’s Clarence House that is their main residence.
From five bedrooms to a stunning garden, here’s an inside look at where the king and queen spend a lot of their time in the UK.
Inside Clarence House
Since 2003, Clarence House in London has been the main residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Between 1953 and 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. It’s been home to several other royals too, including King William IV in the 1800s, his sister Princess Augusta, Queen Victoria’s mother, and even Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
After The Queen Mother moved in, she oversaw many renovations, some of which remain today.
“Today it still honours the taste of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother—in the Morning Room in particular, I think—where you can see her Chelsea porcelain and her painting collections,” Kathryn Jones, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts for Royal Collection Trust, once told Google Arts and Culture.
Where is Clarence House?
The stunning home, which was built in 1825, is less than half a mile away from Buckingham Palace, and can be reached on foot in less than 10 minutes.
Its exact address is 8 Cleveland Row, St. James’s, London, SW1A 1BA. Before the pandemic, it was open to the public during the summer months, where they could receive a guided tour of the interior and its beautiful garden.
Since 2022, Charles and Camilla have opted to remain at Clarence House rather than move to the palace, which is undergoing renovations. However, Buckingham Palace is still Royal HQ.
So what does Clarence House have to offer that makes it so appealing to the king and queen?
To start off with, Clarence House has five bedrooms on offer, which made it perfect for Charles when sons Prince Harry and Prince William moved in with him after finishing school.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s main residence
As well as five bedrooms, Clarence House also boasts a drawing room and morning room which is filled with personal photographs.
The garden room, which was created by the late Queen Mother, is used for welcoming official visitors and features musical instruments, family photos and works of art.
Prior to Charles moving in in 2003, Clarence House underwent extensive refurbishment and redecoration. The renovation featured new colour schemes, new pieces from the Royal Collection and updated textiles.
Clarence House garden
Clarence House also boasts a huge garden. In various videos and photographs over the years, royal fans have got a glimpse of its sprawling lawns.
The garden also features an allotment area with rows of soil for planting, perfectly preened bushes and trees and a small garden shed.
Some of the veg grown at Clarence House include Red Currant tomatoes, Queensland Blue squash, runner beans, peppers and kumquats.
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In his book, Spare, Prince Harry wrote that “the lush gardens” made his wife Meghan Markle “gasp”.
Kathryn Jones also spoke about how “present” the garden is in the home.
“The other thing that always strikes you when you are inside the house is how much the garden is present—many of the rooms look out into the garden, and there is a sense of it, almost like an extra room to the house,” she said.
The garden was also on display in a video shared to the official Clarence House Instagram page. The video saw Camilla host a reception to celebrate Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s 160th anniversary.
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Read more: Trooping the Colour: King Charles’ ‘remark about Prince Harry’ to Queen Camilla
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