Find out which items feature in the Morning Room at Clarence House with our guide below. Photo / Twitter / Clarence House
Find out which items feature in the Morning Room at Clarence House with our guide below. Photo / Twitter / Clarence House
It has been the home of many a Royal celebration, where Prince George took his official christening photograph for an admiring nation.
The morning room at Clarence House can today be seen in all its everyday glory, as it opens to the public as a cosy family affair.
The room,decorated in some the finest works the Royal Collection can muster, shows how the Prince of Wales dotes on his family, with a host of intimate photographs of children and grandchildren.
Four generations of the family can be seen in a christening photograph on the right hand side, taken in that very room in 2013.
A more recent image of Prince George and his baby sister Princess Charlotte may well be the latest addition, taking pride of place by the mantelpiece to the right.
Prince Harry is captured several times, with a large snapshot of his face in the very centre of the room, and a photograph of father and son on a trip to South Africa in 1997.
While images of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge do not feature heavily in shot, an additional table of family photographs is out of range. In the past, it has displayed the wedding photograph of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, and family snaps of the Queen Mother.
The morning room is now open to the public for Clarence House's summer season, welcoming in tourists to see the official residence of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Described by the Royal Collection Trust as a "much-loved family house", five rooms will be opened to admirers from now until October, allowing a remarkable insight into the daily life of the Royal family.
As well as works from the Royal Collection, including Landseer's Hector, Nero and Dash hanging in the dining room, are photographs and trinkets from the family's private stores.
A Chippendale sofa and two chairs, from 1773, are flanked by mid-18th century lampshades, and a curious pair of rabbit figurines.
Framed landscapes accompany works by Walter Sickert and Augustus John, with a photograph of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh from the 1950s a reminder of days gone by.
For £35 extra-eager tourists can enjoy an "exclusive tour", including a visit to the Cornwall Room hung with 22 of The Prince of Wales's own watercolours, a glass of champagne and a view of the garden.
Several thousand guests are received at the house annually, while it forms the base for the Prince's working life and official staff.
Once the home of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as newlyweds, the Prince of Wales lived there as a small boy before it passed to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1953.
He returned to the home in 2003, now living there with the Duchess of Cornwall among many of the art works, furniture and decoration installed by the Queen Mother.
What we can see in the Clarence House morning room
1 A painting of George V talking to his racing manager at Aintree racecourse by Walter Sickert 2 A photograph of the Prince of Wales and a young Prince Harry, in South Africa in 1997, taken during a half-term holiday shortly after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. 3 One of a pair of mid-18th century carved ornamental pedestals, part of the family's own collection. 4 A pair of ornamental white rabbits, belonging to the family's own collection. 5 A large framed photograph of Prince Harry, on a coffee table in the middle of the room. 6A black and white photograph of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, part of the private collection and believed to have been taken in the 1950s. The young couple lived at Clarence House as newlyweds, before the Queen's coronation. 7 A Chippendale sofa and chair set, dating from 1773. Thought to have been acquired by Prince William Henry, 1st Duke of Gloucester, they are now part of the Royal Collection and have featured in numerous photographs of the Royal family at Clarence House. 8 A portrait of George Bernard Shaw with his eyes closed by Augustus John. 9 A portrait of the young Queen, wearing a blue dress and hat. 10 A mid-18th century turquoise French vase, imitating a Chinese style. The vase, one of a pair, is believed to have been sent from Brighton to Buckingham Palace in 1847. 11 The official christening photograph for Prince George, featuring the Duke of Cambridge, Prince of Wales and the Queen.
