Clarence House

Royal Palace in London. Clarence House was built in the 1820s and can be found on Pall Mall right next to St James's Palace. It was originally home to Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, who later became William IV. The house's name derives from there.

Clarence House is still of importance today; it is where Queen Mum (officially known as "the Queen Mother") lived until she died in 2002 and where the present queen, Elizabeth II, grew up. After the death of Queen Mum, Prince Charles moved into Clarence House with his two sons Prince William and Harry. It is from here, that Prince Charles coordinates all his charity work, and where his staff offices can be found. Also, he holds receptions and other events of importance at Clarence House.

Interestingly, Clarence House today is the only house in London "to be used for the purpose for which it was originally designed" (Wilkinson 2006:339). During the summer months a part of Clarence House is open to the public and it is quite popular with tourists as well as natives..

Sources: Wilkinson, Phillip. The British Monarchy For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Chichester: [publishing house??] 2006.

http://england-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/royal_london_clarence_house [20.4.2010]

http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/ClarenceHouse/ClarenceHouse.aspx [20.4.2010]