From a childhood photo of the Queen to antiques such as a Baroque Jean Antoine Lepine clock, Charles and Camilla mix priceless antiques with personal touches in their drawing room at Clarence House
- The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall opened the doors of Clarence House to NATO leaders for today
- NATO leaders from around the world gathered in London today to mark 70 years of the alliance
- Charles and Camilla moved into the palatial London townhouse a year after Queen Mother’s death in 2002
- Jingdezhen china, eighteenth-century porcelain and priceless artwork now decorate the Morning Room
- Also houses porcelain cockerels that once belonged to Queen Mary, inherited by Queen Elizabeth in 1953
- New additions since it was seen last year are a portrait and bust of the Queen and a new mantel clock
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A new set of images taken at Clarence House offer a fascinating insight into the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall’s private world – and the changes that have taken place since it was seen last October when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherland visited.
Filled with priceless antiques and curiosities from around the world, Charles and Camilla’s London palatial townhouse played host to a stream of NATO leaders today, as they gathered to mark 70 years of the alliance.
Whilst the majority of the portraits and furnishings remain the same, the monarch appears to have become more prominent, with a new bust of the young Queen and and a portrait of her additions to the rosewood cabinets on either side of the mantelpiece.
Meanwhile a Jean Antoine Lepine mantel clock now takes pride of place on the mantelpiece, and a picture of Prince Harry which previously sat to the right of the table by the Chelsea botanical porcelain collection has been moved.
The Morning Room was once known as the Breakfast Room in John Nash’s original design for the Duke of Clarence in 1825, with Charles and Camilla moving in a year after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002 – and its current inhabitants have paid tribute to former residents with the addition of countless portraits and busts.
1. Mid-eighteenth century giltwood pedestal with lights 2. Bust of the young Queen Elizabeth on top of a breakfront rosewood cabinet 4. Sortie de l’Eglise, Jamaique 1961 painting by Sir Noël Coward 5. Chelsea botanical porcelain collection 6. One of a pair of porcelain cockerels that once belonged to Queen Mary, inherited by Queen Elizabeth in 1953 7. A 1945 study for the Portrait of Queen Elizabeth as Royal Bencher of the Middle Temple by Sir James Gunn 8. A portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth
3. Jean Antoine Lepine mantel clock (1720-1814) Meanwhile a Jean Antoine Lepine mantel clock has taken pride of place in the centre of the mantelpiece, with crystal candelabra on either side
A picture of Prince Charles alongside Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte in the Morning Room at Clarence House shows the mid-eighteenth century giltwood pedestal with lights remain on either side of the mantelpiece.
The Chelsea botanical porcelain collection remains on two breakfront rosewood cabinets, while two hanging pictures, the Sortie de l’Eglise, Jamaique 1961 painting by Sir Noël Coward to the left, and A 1945 study for the Portrait of Queen Elizabeth as Royal Bencher of the Middle Temple by Sir James Gunn to the right have kept their place.
New additions include a bust of the young Queen to the left, and a black and white picture of Queen Elizabeth in front of another bust, to the right.
Meanwhile a Jean Antoine Lepine mantel clock has now taken pride of place in the centre of the mantelpiece, with crystal candelabra on either side.
New additions include a bust of the young Queen to the left, (2) and a black and white picture of Queen Elizabeth in front of another bust, to the right (8)
A 1945 study for the Portrait of Queen Elizabeth as Royal Bencher of the Middle Temple by Sir James Gunn has remained in the same position
The house was the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s home when they were first married and Prince Charles was brought up in the stately home by his parents until the age of three.
It served as the official residence for Prince William from 2003 until his 2011 marriage and for Prince Harry from 2003 until 2012, and is now the much-loved London home of Charles and Camilla.
When the couple moved in 15 years ago, Charles’s Royal Standard was raised above the 19th-century building where his beloved grandmother lived for nearly 50 years.
A major renovation project by Charles’ interior designer Robert Kime cost £4.5 million at the time, and was paid for by taxpayers from grant-in-aid set aside for palace maintenance.
Charles reportedly used £1.6 million of his own money for extras, and also paid for the decoration of two rooms to be used by his ‘companion’ and now wife, formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles.
Clarence House displays much of the Queen Mother’s famous art collection, including 20th-century paintings by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, WS Sickert and Augustus John.
The picture of Prince Harry (seen right in 2018) appears to have been removed (left)