Most people can picture Buckingham Palace in an instant. However, far fewer could recognize Clarence House, the current home where King Charles III and Queen Camilla now live. However, this elegant four-storey townhouse on The Mall in central London has a fascinating history. It is where a young Princess Elizabeth began married life, where Diana spent her last night of freedom before her wedding, where the Queen Mother lived for nearly 50 years, and where King Charles III has chosen to make his permanent home over the far grander palace just down the road. Here are 11 things you might be surprised to learn about Clarence House.
The architect who built it was the same one who got fired from Buckingham Palace for going over budget
The official Royal Family website records that Clarence House was built between 1825 and 1827, commissioned by the Duke of Clarence and designed by the architect John Nash. If you know the history of Buckingham Palace, his name is familiar because John Nash was the same architect who was simultaneously transforming Buckingham House into Buckingham Palace. However, he spent so lavishly on the endeavor that he was fired from the project, but he managed to keep his position as the architect of Clarence House.
It’s worth $72 million — and King Charles has no intention of leaving
Clarence House is a four-story townhouse that has a current estimated value of $72 million, reported Forbes. King Charles and Queen Camilla have made it their home since 2003, and their preference for it over Buckingham Palace is now considered permanent. According to People, Charles and Camilla have no plans to relocate to Buckingham Palace even after its $463 million renovation is complete.
Princess Diana spent her last night of freedom there and said it felt like ‘going into a hotel’
Before her wedding to Prince Charles in July 1981, Diana moved into Clarence House to prepare for the ceremony, reported Architectural Digest. She didn’t really like the house because she found it rather cold and uninviting. Royal biographer Andrew Morton shared in his book Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, that Princess Diana compared going to Clarence House to going to a hotel with nobody there to welcome her.
During World War II, it became a Red Cross headquarters — and took a direct hit
Clarence House’s history is quite dramatic. During World War II, it became the headquarters of the Red Cross and St John Ambulance Brigade, according to the BBC. It was bombed, though, and had extensive damage that took several years to repair.
The Queen Mother initially hated it, then lived there for nearly 50 years
When Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was supposed to move into Clarence House after the death of King George VI in 1952, she was reportedly not happy about the arrangement. Royal Palaces shared that she thought the building “loathsome” when she arrived to live there. Changes were made at a cost of £10,800, and she grew to deeply love Clarence House as her home. She enjoyed filling it with art she loved, and she lived there until her death in 2002, so she lived there nearly half a century.
It holds one of the greatest private art collections in Britain
The Queen Mother’s passion for collecting beautiful works of art can still be felt at Clarence House today. The official Royal Family website revealed that the arrangement of the rooms and their contents remain much as they were during the time when she lived there, with her collection of works of art and furniture still in their original positions. The Royal Collection Trust stated that Clarence House includes artwork by FW Sperling and Sawray Gilpin that once belonged to the Queen Mother. It also displays her Chinese porcelain, some originally made for the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, and artwork by Veronese and Carracci.
King Charles grows his own organic fruit and vegetables in the garden
Despite sitting in the heart of central London, Clarence House comes with a surprisingly productive garden. Charles is an advocate for organic gardening, and he grows organic fruits and vegetables there at his home. The garden was created in memory of The Queen Mother.
Princess Anne was actually born there
Not many people know that Clarence House is not just a royal residence but a royal birthplace. The official Royal Family website confirmed that Princess Anne was born at Clarence House on August 15, 1950, at 11:50am, with a 21-gun salute in Hyde Park to celebrate the occasion. Her mother, then Princess Elizabeth, was living in Clarence House with Prince Philip after they were married in 1947. The house that King Charles now calls home is also the house where his sister was born.
It was home to both Prince William and Prince Harry in their early adult years
Before settling into their own royal lives, both Prince Harry and Prince William lived at Clarence House. Prince William lived there from 2003 to April 2011, the same month he got married to Kate Middleton. Prince Harry lived at Clarence House with his father from 2003 until he was 19 years old in 2012, according to Architectural Digest. He had his own bedroom and study. In his memoir, Spare, Harry shared that he tried not to be upset that his stepmother Camilla turned his bedroom into her personal dressing room after he moved out, but he did care and was saddened when he first saw it.
King Charles still keeps a photo of Meghan Markle on display
During a Christmas event at Clarence House in December 2025, cameras captured something that was surprising to many royal watchers. People reported that there was a framed photo of King Charles walking Meghan Markle down the aisle at her wedding to Prince Harry. Given the rift between Harry and his father, people found it touching that the photo is still on display, and they took it as hope for greater reconciliation in the future.
You can actually visit it but only for about a month each year
Clarence House may be the private home of a king, but it is open to the public for one month out of the year. According to Visit London, the official London visitor’s guide, you can book a tour only in August. It may vary according to the year, so be sure to confirm it will be open before booking any tours. Visitors aren’t shown the entire residence, but they are taken through five significant rooms that remain largely preserved as they were during the Queen Mother’s lifetime, complete with her art and furniture collections.
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