A Rare Peek Inside King Charles And Camilla’s Luxurious Private Home

Situated in the City of Westminster, Clarence House is part of a long road called The Mall, which leads to the monarch’s official London residence, Buckingham Palace. Clarence House is also close to another historical landmark, St James’ Palace. Before the then-Prince-of-Wales and Camilla moved in, the former had been home to the Queen Mother, who passed away in 2002 at age 101.

Here’s a glimpse of the house’s spectacular interior. You’re looking at a photo of the Morning Room from 1894. 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. We’re mentioning the Morning Room now for two important reasons.

Firstly, it was the Queen Mother’s favorite room in the house. Secondly, the decor emphasizes an all-important sense of grandeur and continuity. While the Queen Mother would have put her own stamp on the place, the royals aren’t ones to replace the insides of a property with a whole new style. Not when centuries of tradition are at stake!

Certain elements have been preserved through the ages. For example, when the Queen Mother died, her dutiful grandson ensured items such as her artworks and furniture remained in place. In addition, he brought his personal touch to Clarence House, which we’ll discuss later. We’re also taking time to briefly remember the former prince’s interior decorator, Robert Kime, who directed the most recent refurbishment.

Mr. Kime passed away recently, aged 76. Reportedly the King’s favorite designer, he worked closely with the then-prince on the interiors of Clarence House and Highgrove in Gloucestershire, among others. Speaking to Tatler magazine, he revealed that their royal occupant would “pop in a lot” during his time at Highgrove and “would find three things wrong, and he’d always be right.”

Do you think the new King is spot on when it comes to interior design? There’s only one way to find out. Join us as we venture inside Clarence House for an in-depth look at its many rooms and features. The house is open to the public during the summer, but this is a tour of a royal landmark and family home you can access all year round!

As you’d expect with such a property, the interior begins with a grand Entrance Hall. The floor is covered in Persian carpets. Made of wool, they feature a Herati pattern, which originated in Afghanistan but is more typically found in Iran. Looking up to the left, you’ll see a large portrait of Augusta, Princess of Wales, in the 18th century. 

Further along the wall is an impressive painting of Henry V meeting the Queen of France. William Kent painted the scene, which is thought to have entered the household via Queen Caroline. The picture dates to around 1728. A display of a different kind is the King of Hanover dinner service, containing Worcester porcelain in a grand, glass-fronted cabinet.

Hanging next to the cabinet by the banisters is an enormous, carpet-like feature. This is the prominently-displayed Garter Banner of the Queen Mother, which shows the royal coat of arms. England is represented by the three golden lions. The red lion denotes Scotland, and Ireland is indicated by the golden harp. The banner also features the coat of arms of the Earl of Strathmore — a.k.a. the Queen Mother’s father — together with her royal family crest. Clarence House’s long gallery hallway is really a tour in itself.

As waiting rooms go, this isn’t bad, to put it mildly! Suppose you were nervously awaiting the arrival of your royal host. In that case, you could probably calm yourself by studying the eight watercolor paintings of Windsor Castle from the 1940s, courtesy of artist John Piper. We’re not sure if you’d have been able to read the many books on display, though checking out the spines could be doable.

We now return to the Morning Room, mentioned earlier. As well as being the Queen Mother’s favorite, it’s had a range of purposes over the decades. Charles and his wife used the space to host assorted visitors. The room has also been the venue for photo shoots: for example, when Prince Louis was christened, the setting chosen for photos was the Morning Room. 

At one point, it became a study for the late Duke of Edinburgh, who may have eaten a hearty breakfast here. After all, the room was designed for that purpose… a breakfast room! King Charles III kept an impressive wood-and-gilt bronze desk in this illustrious space, where he may have sat and worked on assignments. He’s known to use sustainable materials wherever possible. 

Moving on from the Morning Room, we now enter the Library. This part of Clarence House is full of books, thanks to the late monarch Queen Elizabeth II and her husband. They put up bookshelves in what had previously been the Entrance Hall. Following structural renovations, the tomes remained, redefining the old room. 

After Elizabeth and Philip were married in 1947, the couple lived at Clarence House between 1949 and 1953 before going to Buckingham Palace. Their first son Charles was born the year before they moved to Clarence House, so he spent the first few years of his life there. Speculation about his childhood is well-documented: growing up in the royal household meant a less than stable family life, according to many sources. As depicted in Netflix’s The Crown, the future King may have had difficulty establishing himself, and his private school education was reportedly challenging.

The Dining Room has been used for family occasions, notably the Diamond Wedding anniversary dinner for the late Queen and Prince Philip. As for the new King, he reportedly invited the attendees of various big gatherings into the room for some good food and refreshment. The bronze coving came in with the house’s most recent occupants, adding extra luster.

The portrait over the fireplace is that of the Queen Mother by Augustus John. Work on it was reportedly halted due to the outbreak of World War II. It’s also said that he was too nervous to complete the work. Fortunately for him, the portrait's subject was very happy with the result. We can’t guess the opinions of the next occupants, though.

Welcome to the Horse Corridor, named because it features numerous paintings of… well, horses. An equine cannot comment on a picture of itself, though its owner certainly can. Queen Elizabeth II was famously fond of horses and had been photographed attending many related events, not least of which was the Grand National.

As previously indicated, the Queen Mother was a great fan of the Morning Room. Yet she also made a major contribution to the interior of Clarence House in the shape of the Garden Room. As you might expect, this looks out onto the property’s impressive gardens. It was made out of two rooms and also appears to double as a music room.

The new King has previously met with dignitaries in the Garden Room, such as here when he welcomed former New Zealand premier Helen Clark. Did he play a tune on the piano or give the harp a pluck or two? Such information is probably classified. Speaking of secret information, you may be wondering about the upstairs section of Clarence House… We’re sorry to say photos of these rooms are currently under wraps. 

There is good news, though. While living here, Charles commissioned artworks of these mysterious upstairs rooms, so we could at least get an idea of his private space. Naturally, the paintings look spectacular, though we’re not sure why he didn’t just release photos. Still, we can’t blame him for wanting some corners of the house for himself!

Let’s console ourselves by stepping into the gardens of Clarence House for some fresh air. The King’s love of nature and green spaces has been evident throughout his life as a public figure. After his grandmother died in 2002, he set to work creating a renovated garden in her honor. Between 2004 and 2005, Charles oversaw the lush sight which greets visitors as they enter Clarence House through a Doric-style portico. Doric is an ancient style dating back to the Greeks and Romans. If you’re wondering what a portico is, it’s an extra roof supported by columns.

Clarence House was originally constructed between 1825 and 1827. Its initial purpose was to house Prince William, Duke of Clarence and son of George III. He lived there until his passing in 1837, aged 71. Princess Augusta then spent the last three years of her life there, moving from her own house, which was a part of Clarence House itself, until its demolition.   

It was then taken over in 1841 by the Duchess of Kent, mother to Queen Victoria. The monarch’s sons, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and Arthur, Duke of Connaught, subsequently inhabited the property. It was then used for the war effort before Elizabeth and Philip moved in during the late 1940s. The Queen Mother lived there from 1953 till 2002.

Clarence House is available to visit in the summertime, with a virtual tour also on offer from the comfort of your own home. Plus, its most recent occupants had regularly invited the world in to see their property, thanks to ceremonies such as lighting the Christmas tree. On occasions such as these, the royal family seeks to present a relatable face to the general public.

What does the future hold for Clarence House and whoever lives there? It certainly occupied a special place in the hearts of Queen Elizabeth II and her son, not to mention the rest of the family. The details may change, but overall it appears that the exterior and interior of the house King Charles III until recently called home is likely to remain largely reassuringly constant. Yet this rare glimpse inside a royal home got us curious about other spectacular properties owned by the monarchy, namely, Buckingham Palace.

Unsurprisingly, the British royal family own a lot of art pieces. Apparently, they have 7,000 paintings and 450,000 photos, plus sculptures, literature, weaponry, carriages – virtually anything you can name. An area of Buckingham Palace called the Queen’s Gallery hosts some of these artworks, and the public can go in to see them.

If you’re lucky enough to ever eat at Buckingham Palace, you’re in luck. Not only will you dine among luxury, but virtually any food you could wish for is available for your pleasure. The Queen herself reportedly kept Special K and Tabasco sauce in her larders. She also had a steady supply of fancy chocolate and nuts kept for her.

It probably goes without saying that the royal family have hired a lot of nannies over the years. The nanny for the Cambridge children is a woman called Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo. She was hired by Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2014. This photo shows her holding a cheeky Prince George inside Buckingham Palace.

A building as old as Buckingham Palace surely couldn’t not be haunted. More to the point, there’s a story of one suicide in the palace. This was Major John Gwynne, the private secretary to King Edward VIII. After causing a scandal by divorcing his wife, he ended up shooting himself inside his office. Now, rumor has it that a ghostly gunshot can still be heard echoing from that room.

The most honored guests at the palace – people like President Obama and Angelina Jolie – are entertained in a special place called the 1844 Room, which can be reset for both audiences and meals. It’s known by this name because the royals received Tsar Nicholas I there in 1844. And it’s positively luxurious in every way.

You’ll never need to wear a watch or look at a smartphone if you’re invited to Buckingham Palace. There are clocks everywhere. There are, in fact, at least 350 of them. And it falls to one person – the horological conservator – to maintain them all and make sure every last one displays the correct time.

A slightly unusual animal once lived at Buckingham Palace – King George V’s pet parrot Charlotte. He was utterly devoted to the bird. She would sit near him at dinner, pecking at seeds while everybody else ate their meal. And even while the king attended to official business, she would sometimes sit on his shoulder.

Not many people know that there’s an ATM hidden in the basement of Buckingham Palace, but there is. Members of the royal family – but nobody else – can go down there and pick up cash from the ATM whenever they need some. All of it, of course, has the monarch’s face on it.

In 1965 the members of the Beatles all picked up MBEs from Buckingham Palace. At the time, it was the height of Beatlemania, and fans of the band even tried climbing the gates to get a glimpse of them. But they wouldn’t have gotten far. Not only do guardsmen patrol the area around the palace, the Metropolitan Police are also on hand.

There’s an official website for the royal family, and naturally the palace staff have emails like everyone else. But Buckingham Palace also has its very own post office. Which makes a lot of sense – you wouldn’t expect a royal to go and line up with sensitive mail in a regular store. Oh, and the staff are also allowed to utilize the in-house postal services.

The Buckingham Palace gardens are, of course, utterly beautiful. But something people might not know is that it’s host to over 25 different varieties of Britain’s national flower, the rose. One is even named after Prince William! The people who grow the multitudes of roses are the palace’s live-in gardeners, who work to keep the gardens to the highest possible standard.

The way the royal family celebrates Christmas isn’t quite what you would expect. Apparently, they give each other joke gifts – and the more ridiculous, the better. Apparently, in 2013 Prince Harry got his grandmother a shower cap with “Ain’t life a b****” on it. Another year, Meghan Markle is said to have gotten her a musical hamster toy.

If you want to spot a royal, they tend to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony for special occasions such as weddings. That balcony’s been around for a long time. It was built by Queen Victoria during her reign, specifically for the purpose of greeting the public. The first time it was used, it was to wave goodbye to Crimean War soldiers.

Visitors to Buckingham Palace probably wouldn’t ever have difficulty finding the place. Not only is it obviously a world-famous historical landmark, it’s also so big that it actually has its own zip code. Its designation is SW1A 1AAA. And houses within the SW1 postal code are considered some of the swankiest in London.

Long before Buckingham Palace was built, an old story goes, there was a monastery on the grounds – and one of the monks is still there to this day. According to some, this monk was imprisoned in a cell for some crime and passed away behind bars. Now, he supposedly pops up at night sometimes, wearing a cowl and rattling a ghostly chain.

One fascinating story about Buckingham Palace involves a teenager called Edward Jones. Back in 1838 – when security at the palace was far from what it is now – he developed a habit of sneaking in and eventually made off with some pairs of Queen Victoria’s underwear. The incident caused enough outcry to get new guards employed.

There are a lot of rooms in Buckingham Palace, and naturally the monarch has their choice of any of them. But according to people who have worked within the residence, the Queen actually only used six rooms in the entire place. These were apparently her bathroom, dressing room, bedroom, sitting room, a waiting room, and the Audience Room.

Buckingham Palace has its secrets, but perhaps the one of the most interesting is the hidden River Tyburn that flows beneath it. This waterway goes under the palace courtyard and its south wing. However, it’s considered to be more of a sewer these days, so perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Buckingham Palace has a secret sewer.

In many photographs of the Buckingham Palace interior, you can see a chandelier. There are so many of them, so you might wonder how on earth they stay lit and maintained? Well, in the olden days, King George IV kept a staff of 30 workers purely for the sake of chandelier-lighting. Nowadays, however, things are a little different. Remote controls can lower the chandeliers down towards the ground.

It only makes sense that a place such as Buckingham Palace would have something called the Grand Staircase within it. It’s among the first thing people see when entering the palace. The beautiful creation is made from marble, covered in red carpet, and as guests climb the stairs, they see portraits of royals from times past.

In 2006, as part of her 80th birthday celebrations, the Queen opened up the Buckingham Palace gardens to the archeology TV show Time Team. It was called “the Big Royal Dig.” The archeologists found some interesting things, including a Mesolithic blade, a pipe made of clay, and a diamond earring from Queen Victoria’s era.

This picture shows the Queen hosting an Emergency Services & Disaster Response Reception, but she herself had had to use those services before. In 2002 a fire broke out at Buckingham Palace, apparently starting in a disused toilet. Nobody was hurt, but it was surely a sobering thought that all that history could have been wiped out in a matter of hours if things had really gone wrong.

Buckingham Palace naturally has a throne room – but it’s not really used for its original purpose. Inside, there are monogrammed chairs for both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. However, the Queen only ever actually sat on her throne in 1953, on the day of her coronation. Now the throne room is used simply to host special events at the palace.

Buckingham Palace does embrace new ideas. After all, Prince Albert introduced heating and lighting to the palace in the 19th century – and at the time those were exciting things. So, in 2012 it was agreed that the Queen would deliver her Christmas speech in 3D with the help of Sky. It wasn’t well received. Newspaper The Guardian said it was “squarely in the realm of gimmick.”

It’s not a thing to speak about in polite conversation with a royal, but obviously Buckingham Palace has bathrooms. And it has a lot of them, in fact. Apparently, the total number of bathrooms in the palace is 78, which means that it’s unlikely that any member of the royal family or their will be caught short.

For her Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Queen opened up the grounds of Buckingham Palace for a concert. It was advertised as one of the biggest gigs Britain would ever see, and interest was intense. Winners of a lottery were allowed inside the palace gardens, but at least a million more gathered outside. And Brian May played “God Save The Queen” from the roof.

Inside Buckingham Palace is a room once called the Chinese Luncheon Room. It’s packed full of furniture taken from the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, most of it done in a “Chinoiserie” manner. This is a Western form inspired by Chinese styles. This room has a new name now – it’s referred to as, simply, the Centre Room.

Some pretty odd things have been sent to Buckingham Palace as gifts over the years. These include a grasshopper-shaped wine cooler, a bed for dogs in the shape of a crown, and a figurine of her son Charles standing with kids’ character Postman Pat. In 2017 the palace held an exhibition of some of the most noteworthy gifts.

Both Charles and Prince Andrew were born within the walls of Buckingham Palace. Charles was born after 30 hours of labor, and Prince Philip wasn’t present – he was off playing squash somewhere else. When Prince Andrew was born in 1960, he was baptized in the palace’s Music Room like his brother had been.

Buckingham Palace was built using something called Oolitic limestone, but nobody knew back then what properties the rock had. In 2017 it transpired that the limestone was formed over millions of years around the bodies of microorganisms. That meant that there were miniature fossils packed into the walls of the palace.

At Buckingham Palace, banquets are a big deal. In fact, they can be apparently planned out at least a year in advance by the Master of the Household and their staff. Thousands of glass and silver pieces have to be carefully polished, every dish is prepared from scratch, and the Queen used to get final say over the smallest of details.

A royal funeral isn’t quite like a regular one. When a king or queen passes away, their body lies in state so people can come and pay their respects. King Edward VII passed away on May 6, 1910, and his body was kept at Buckingham Palace until May 17. Reportedly, this was partly because his widow adamantly refused to let him be moved.

Each year, the Queen would host around three garden get-togethers, and guests would get to come in and experience the Buckingham Palace grounds. Some of the luckier ones might even have gotten to talk the Queen or another royal. According to the British Monarchist Foundation, 20,000 sandwiches get eaten during the course of one of these events.

It’s long been rumored that beneath Buckingham Palace there exists a secret system of tunnels. Some say that they’re linked to the Houses of Parliament, others say they connect to Clarence House. But it seems that if anyone knows for certain, they’re not sharing it with the media. It’s a claim that remains unconfirmed but plausible.

Royals don’t necessarily have to go to hospital if they don’t want to. There just so happens to be a fully operational surgery within the palace walls. All that’s needed is for a doctor to arrive. This was what happened when King George battled cancer in 1951. Surgeons attended to him inside the palace, so news of his ill health wouldn’t get out.

The late Queen’s pets were apparently treated with the utmost respect, and that means they had virtually free run of Buckingham Palace. Guests visiting the palace could expect to see adorable little corgis running around. And in case any of the animals had accidents, there was cleaning equipment strategically hidden around the palace.

Britain was hit hard during World War II, and Buckingham Palace wasn’t spared. In fact, its royal residents were lucky to escape with their lives. The palace was hit on nine occasions, with one bomb completely leveling the Palace Chapel building. Just a few hours prior to that, members of the royal family had been inside it.

In 1982 there was a dramatic failing in Buckingham Palace’s security. An intruder named Michael Fagan made it into Buckingham Palace and found his way to the Queen’s room. The story goes that the Queen stalled the unwelcome guest by talking to him, but Fagan himself claims she instantly ran off. Though no-one was hurt, it was an incredibly embarrassing incident for the guards.

Buckingham Palace is massive and lots of people sleep there. To be exact, the palace contains 52 bedrooms for royals and their guests, and 188 bedrooms for the staff. Oh, and there’s a cafeteria, a cinema, and a pool. If the royals didn’t live there, it would make a great luxury hotel!

Believe it or not, Buckingham Palace has a real, Hogwarts-style hidden passage within its walls. In the White Drawing Room – created by John Nash back in 1899 – there’s a secret door behind one of the massive mirrors which leads to the Queen’s quarters. The ornaments around it are glued down so they won’t fall off when the door opens. Imagine what it would be like to go in there…