Royal Interiors, Part II

[Nikola]

Regency Room at Buckingham Palace:

[Nikola]

One more photo of the Regency Room:

[Nikola]

Does any of you have informations about decorations (and furniture) of the Room 1844 in Buckingham Palace? About walls, ceiling, chimney, furniture...?

About this room i only know how used and this: "the 1844 Room, which was decorated in that year for the State visit of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and, on the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France".

[Lindelle]

Correct, at the moment Prince and Prince Michael of Kent continue to occupy Kensington Palace Apartment #10 (incidentally next door the the apartment of the late Diana, Princess of Wales), as they have since their marriage.  For the past 7 years the Queen has paid the rent (to the tune of £10,000 a month) in recognition of their public and charitable duties for which they receive no other public funding.  That generosity ended this year, with the couple now paying their own rent.

Their country home was sold in 2006 for £5.75 million.  A further £2.1million was raised last year selling off heirlooms, but that was likely divided among Prince Michael and his two siblings.  Combined with any inheritance or trusts they may have received, and of course the income generated from the Prince's consultancy company and the Princess' books and other commercial activities, I do not believe the couple is in dire financial straits. 

Chris, I read somewhere - don't ask me where as the brain's rattled - that the Kents' apartments at KP were/used to be stables at the back but had been renovated into apártments. Apparently she didn't like this idea as she felt she wasn't living in as grand quarters as the others residing there. So have they now moved into no.10?

[joye]

One more photo of the Regency Room:

Many thanks Nikola. What great pictures. Now I know where it is and when used.

Another question please.
The Belgium Suite where State Visitors are accommodated.
Where on the floorplan is this State Apartment please?

[CHRISinUSA]

Correct, at the moment Prince and Prince Michael of Kent continue to occupy Kensington Palace Apartment #10 (incidentally next door the the apartment of the late Diana, Princess of Wales), as they have since their marriage.  For the past 7 years the Queen has paid the rent (to the tune of £10,000 a month) in recognition of their public and charitable duties for which they receive no other public funding.  That generosity ended this year, with the couple now paying their own rent.

Their country home was sold in 2006 for £5.75 million.  A further £2.1million was raised last year selling off heirlooms, but that was likely divided among Prince Michael and his two siblings.  Combined with any inheritance or trusts they may have received, and of course the income generated from the Prince's consultancy company and the Princess' books and other commercial activities, I do not believe the couple is in dire financial straits. 

Chris, I read somewhere - don't ask me where as the brain's rattled - that the Kents' apartments at KP were/used to be stables at the back but had been renovated into apártments. Apparently she didn't like this idea as she felt she wasn't living in as grand quarters as the others residing there. So have they now moved into no.10?

I believe perhaps you may be confusing Prince and Princess Michael with his brother and sister-in-law, The Duke and Duchess of Kent.  The Michaels of Kent have always lived at #10 since their marriage.  #10 was previously the home of Princess Margaret upon her marriage; she and Lord Snowdon lived there for a while until moving to their much larger apartment on the opposite (south) side of the palace.

If you were standing on the north side of the palace looking back toward at the palace itself, you would be standing in a circular driveway where Diana used to park her car in front of her home (per her former butler's book).  On the far left NW corner of this wing would be the Queen's Staircase (the very north end of the Queen's Apartments extending from the main block / State Rooms of the palace).  Just right of this would be the windows and door of Apartment #10, and then those of the former Wales apartment at #8 and #9.  To the right of this are other apartments occupied by royal staff.

And if you turned around and faced north, you'd be looking at the Stable Block complex (not connected to the palace but adjoining it).  Here are garages and staff quarters, plus a couple of separate cottages, one called Wren House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

[CHRISinUSA]

One more photo of the Regency Room:

Many thanks Nikola. What great pictures. Now I know where it is and when used.

Another question please.
The Belgium Suite where State Visitors are accommodated.
Where on the floorplan is this State Apartment please?

The Belgian Suite is on the ground floor of the palace, facing west toward the gardens.  These rooms lie directly beneath the Royal Closet, Queen's Audience Chamber, etc. above.  Basically, the suite begins from the pool (in the Northwest pavilion) and continues toward the Bow Room in the center of this front.

Looking at my old floor plans, next door to the pool is The Spanish Room (I've seen photos suggesting this has been used as a private dining room for the suite), then the Orleans Room (which I believe is the present bedroom of the suite), then the 18th Century Room (larger room, maybe the private sitting room of the suite), then the Cavernon Room (a narrow room under the Royal Closet).  Behind these rooms are corridors (& bathrooms) which also form part of the suite.

But if I'm not mistaken, the number of rooms which are "combined" to form the Belgian Suite vary depending on the needs of the State Guest staying there.  If more rooms are needed, some of the adjacent Semi-Suite Apartments (such as The 1844 Room and The Bow Room) could be easily added.  Across the Marble Hall are also the Billiard Room (next to the Entrance Hall), and an adjacent room who's name I can't quite see on my plans.  I seem to recall reading that during the State Visit of President Bush, these rooms were used by his staff as offices/ meeting spaces.

[CHRISinUSA]

I have a question?!  At Buckingham Palace, where are the rest rooms / loos used by guests at State Banquets and other large events?  Are they on the State Floor or Ground Floor?  I can't seem to find any on the old floor plans.

[Nikola]

Birkhall

[Lindelle]

Correct, at the moment Prince and Prince Michael of Kent continue to occupy Kensington Palace Apartment #10 (incidentally next door the the apartment of the late Diana, Princess of Wales), as they have since their marriage.  For the past 7 years the Queen has paid the rent (to the tune of £10,000 a month) in recognition of their public and charitable duties for which they receive no other public funding.  That generosity ended this year, with the couple now paying their own rent.

Their country home was sold in 2006 for £5.75 million.  A further £2.1million was raised last year selling off heirlooms, but that was likely divided among Prince Michael and his two siblings.  Combined with any inheritance or trusts they may have received, and of course the income generated from the Prince's consultancy company and the Princess' books and other commercial activities, I do not believe the couple is in dire financial straits. 

Chris, I read somewhere - don't ask me where as the brain's rattled - that the Kents' apartments at KP were/used to be stables at the back but had been renovated into apártments. Apparently she didn't like this idea as she felt she wasn't living in as grand quarters as the others residing there. So have they now moved into no.10?

I believe perhaps you may be confusing Prince and Princess Michael with his brother and sister-in-law, The Duke and Duchess of Kent.  The Michaels of Kent have always lived at #10 since their marriage.  #10 was previously the home of Princess Margaret upon her marriage; she and Lord Snowdon lived there for a while until moving to their much larger apartment on the opposite (south) side of the palace.

If you were standing on the north side of the palace looking back toward at the palace itself, you would be standing in a circular driveway where Diana used to park her car in front of her home (per her former butler's book).  On the far left NW corner of this wing would be the Queen's Staircase (the very north end of the Queen's Apartments extending from the main block / State Rooms of the palace).  Just right of this would be the windows and door of Apartment #10, and then those of the former Wales apartment at #8 and #9.  To the right of this are other apartments occupied by royal staff.

And if you turned around and faced north, you'd be looking at the Stable Block complex (not connected to the palace but adjoining it).  Here are garages and staff quarters, plus a couple of separate cottages, one called Wren House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

You are so right Chris. It was Wren House and I was mistaking them for the Kents. Thanks.

[PAVLOV]

Chris do you know anything about Wilderness House at Hampton Court, the home in exile of GD Xenia ? I have been hunting and cannot find anything. There are one or two pictures on this forum but nothing interesting.

[CHRISinUSA]

Wilderness House is adjacent to the Hampton Court Palace Maze, set in the Wilderness just north of the palace (at that time the term Wilderness didn't convey the same definition as today - it meant woods and paths affording privacy for strolls and such).

Lancelot Capability Brown was appointed Master Gardener at Hampton Court in 1764.  His annual salary was £2,000 plus accommodation in Wilderness House.  After Brown's death in 1783 there is about a century gap in my information about who occupied the house.

From 1884 to 1906 Wilderness House was occupied by Lady Emily Adam, wife of Rt. Hon William Adam, Lord of the Treasury and Governor of Madras.  Her daughter (also Emiily) occupied the house from 1906-1912 when she married her second husband.

In 1912 Amy, Lady White, daughter of the Archdeacon of Calcutta and widow of Field Marshal Sir George White, Governor of Gibraltar from 1905 to his death in 1912, moved in.

In 1937, HIH Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandra, daughter of Tsar Alexander III, moved in.  Xenia previously lived at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor while both Wilderness House and Wilderness Cottage were substantially altered to accommodate her large household.  The work demanded by the Grand Duchess was far more extensive than the palace would normally have approved and added huge costs to the Privy Purse, which her cousin King George V ordered to pay the bills.  Extra work force was brought in to meet the deadline of 16 Jan 1937.

Xenia lived at Wilderness House with her daughter, Princess Youssoupoff and her son Prince Andrew.  The house became an important pilgrimage site for exiled Russian aristocracy.  Queen Mary was also frequently a visitor.  The Grand Duchess' grandson, Prince Michael, later recalled shouting directions with his brother from an upstairs window to tourists trying to find their way out of the Maze.  His mother, Elizabeth Fabrizievna, Princess Andrew, was killed there during a bombing raid on 20 Oct. 1940.  Michael was upstairs looking out of a window and saw the bombs dropped in a line across Bushy Park when one exploded nearby and blew out all the windows and external doors.  Princess Andrew had cancer at the time so her death, while tragic, was viewed as a quick end to her suffering.  Her funeral was held in Wilderness House on 31 Oct 1940.  Xenia and her household remained at the house until her death in 1960. 

In 1961 Major General Sir Charles Offley Harvey was appointed Chief Steward of Hampton Court and moved into Wilderness House.  After his death in 1969, his widow moved into another palace apartment.

In 1985 the house was given to Charles Hector Fitzroy, Lord Maclean, chief of Clan Maclean and Lord Chamberlain from 1971 to 1984.  During his tenure as Lord Chamberlain he overall all ceremonial (but not state) occasions, including the lying-in-state and funeral of the Duke of Windsor in 1972, the funerals of Prince William of Gloucester (1972), the Duke of Gloucester (1974), Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1979) and Princess Alice, Countess of Althone (1981).  He presided over celebrations of the Silver wedding in 1972, the marriage of Princess Anne (1973), the Silver Jubilee (1977) and the wedding of Charles and Diana (1981).  He retired as Lord Chamberlain in 1984 and was appointed permanent Lord in Waiting.  He was Chief Steward of Hampton Court Palace from 1985-1988., and also wrote many children's stories.

After his death in 1990, I have no other info on what the house has been used for.

[joye]

One more photo of the Regency Room:

Many thanks Nikola. What great pictures. Now I know where it is and when used.

Another question please.
The Belgium Suite where State Visitors are accommodated.
Where on the floorplan is this State Apartment please?

The Belgian Suite is on the ground floor of the palace, facing west toward the gardens.  These rooms lie directly beneath the Royal Closet, Queen's Audience Chamber, etc. above.  Basically, the suite begins from the pool (in the Northwest pavilion) and continues toward the Bow Room in the center of this front.

Looking at my old floor plans, next door to the pool is The Spanish Room (I've seen photos suggesting this has been used as a private dining room for the suite), then the Orleans Room (which I believe is the present bedroom of the suite), then the 18th Century Room (larger room, maybe the private sitting room of the suite), then the Cavernon Room (a narrow room under the Royal Closet).  Behind these rooms are corridors (& bathrooms) which also form part of the suite.

But if I'm not mistaken, the number of rooms which are "combined" to form the Belgian Suite vary depending on the needs of the State Guest staying there.  If more rooms are needed, some of the adjacent Semi-Suite Apartments (such as The 1844 Room and The Bow Room) could be easily added.  Across the Marble Hall are also the Billiard Room (next to the Entrance Hall), and an adjacent room who's name I can't quite see on my plans.  I seem to recall reading that during the State Visit of President Bush, these rooms were used by his staff as offices/ meeting spaces.

I appreciate your detailed answer. Many thanks.

[PAVLOV]

Thank you so much chris for the detailed answer.
I have always wondered about the close relationship George V had with Xenia. He really looked after her very well. Perhaps she became a scapegoat for the guilt he felt with regard to the rest of the family.

[architect]

Here's a few interior photos of Nether Lypiatt - The former country home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
 

The Study

The Drawing Room

The Main Staircase

The Entrance Hall and Study
 
The older photos were taken 1934