Clarence House, the primary residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla, has been a part of the British royal family for nearly 200 years. First built somewhere between 1825 and 1827, it was initially designed by John Nash, who also worked on Buckingham Palace, as a home for King George III’s son, the future King William IV. Since then, Clarence House has served as the home for many British royals, most notably including Queen Elizabeth II and her mother, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
However, just before Prince Philip’s wife moved into the residence, it actually served an entirely different purpose for a short while, to accommodate for a significant moment in British history. After the Duke of Connaught, who had been living there at the time, passed away in 1942, Clarence House was opened to the War Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John of Jerusalem, which were known together as the ‘Joint War Organisation’ (JWO).
The JWO was a combined operation conducted by the two charities, working across care homes, hospitals, nurseries, ambulance units and more to offer protection to working volunteers and staff under the Red Cross name. It also became the leading organisation for handling parcels, which became informally known as Red Cross parcels, given to prisoners of war, including food parcels, medical supplies and educational books.
Queen Elizabeth lived in Clarence House afterwards
After her marriage to Prince Philip, and the permanent disbandment of the JWO following the end of the Second World War, Queen Elizabeth, then still a princess, moved into the luxurious royal residence. The property underwent a series of modernising renovations, including newer electrical, heat and water systems, though the work was still relatively modest due to the nationwide economic difficulties that persisted after the war.
© Tim Graham Photo Library via GetWhen she ascended the throne in 1952, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip moved into Buckingham Palace, leaving Clarence House to her mother and sister, Princess Maragret, who redesigned and renovated the place themselves. Even today, after King Charles and Camilla moved in and added their own touches, I love that the late Queen Mother’s taste in interiors, a remnant of a previous royal era’s opulence, with her porcelain collections and paintings, is still palpable in the rooms.
Rachel Avery, HELLO!‘s Homes Editor, explains that his history with the home goes far earlier than when he moved in back in 2003: “Clarence House was passed down from the Queen Mother to King Charles III, when he was still Prince Charles, so it has a lot of sentimental value. The monarch has even spoken about his fond memories spending time there as a child.”
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