To mark the heir apparent’s 70th birthday, and thus the longest-serving regent-in-waiting, Google streetview offered a tour inside Clarence House, Prince Charles’ Home in London. Though visitors can view the gardens of Clarence House each year, the interior is usually off-limits to tourists, however, in celebration of the Duke of Cornwall’s 70th-year guests were permitted into the official rooms of the home for a month. Here’s a look at those rooms:

The United Kingdom’s Royal Family, unsurprisingly, have a vast portfolio of properties including privately owned homes (such as Balmoral) and crown properties – residences where official work is carried out. Naturally, The Queen has the biggest official residences with Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle (along with Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh and Hillsborough Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland), but the heir to the throne, the Duke of Cornwall, Prince Charles also hosts official engagements at his London Headquarters, Clarence House.

Clarence House, located a stroll away from Buckingham Palace, was built in the 1820s and was the former home of The Queen and Prince Philip after their marriage in 1947, as well as The Queen Mother from 1953 to 2002. Grade I listed, the property is not only a base for the Prince of Wales, but also provides offices for the Duke’s household, with 5 principle rooms acting as receptions for entertaining and receiving diplomatic visitors.

The first room in the house is The Lancaster Room, a drawing room with a central fireplace and views of the garden shared with St James’s Palace. The room is filled with an assortment of trinkets, antiques and books from around the world, including three large cabinets crowded with hardback art, history and geography books. The design of this room is similar to how it looked at the time of its occupation by The Queen Mother, though the walls have been painted with a calmer cream.

Prince Charles was largely raised in the home and has kept much of the decorations from that time, as well as some of  The Queen Mother’s additions including artwork by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, WS Sickert and Augustus John, much of which can be seen in The Morning Room. The Morning Room sits across the hall from The Lancaster Room and is a drawing room decorated in cool hues of blue and has been the reception room for many notable guests including King Filipe of Spain, and the setting for official portraits from the christening of Prince George.

The Morning Room includes many personal photographs as well as artworks and antiques including a mid-century ornamental pedestal standing next to the fireside, which acts as a lamp, a 1773 Chippendale sofa and matching chair, a be-hatted portrait of King George V hung by the window drapes, and a portrait of George Bernard Shaw by Augustus John, on the other side of the window, along with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth. Looking upwards an intricate design can be seen in the ceiling mouldings, with a recognisable crown featured at either end of the room.

Through double doors is The Library, an interim room between The Morning Room and The Dining Room, which has been used as a reception room for informal gatherings, and features a central table usually set for tea. Though the dining room can seat twelve, the table is often set for eight and features an array of antiques and paintings, including a portrait of three previous family dogs. 

Across the central hall, and past the staircase is another corridor, this time thickly decorated in pink and lined with further antique pieces. The corridor leads guests to The Garden Room, a room created by separating two rooms, which were used by Princess Margaret during her time living in the house. The Garden Room is so called because of its four-window views of the manicured garden and is host to even more precious artworks including The Massacre of the Mamelikes, a 17th-century tapestry gifted to Queen Victoria by Emperor Napoleon III, seen hanging on the back wall.

The Garden Room also features a heavy wood desk used by the Duke of Cornwall and laden with a host of books including Our Future: Consumerism or Humanism by JC Kapur and HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah’s Reflections and Recollections. Behind the desk stands a marble statuette by John Francis believed to be of 2nd Viscount Melbourne.

You can find out more about Clarence House at the official royals website here. You can view more royal residences by browsing the ‘royalty‘ tag, including Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace.

images: google streetview