Clarence House

Each Summer the royal family open their London homes, (Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace, Clarence House,) to the public. This is in part a way for them to raise money, and to allow the public to see these places that are normally both working offices and private homes.

We've been to Buckingham Palace a few times. Each year it has a different theme. I've seen the Queen and Prince's wedding, (her wedding dress, their presents, films) all set in Buckingham Palace. Last year we saw the palace dining room set with china, crystal and silver for a state banquet.

We just recently went to Clarence House, where Charles and Camilla live and where the Queen Mum spent her later years. It is stunning - elegant, but in a lived in way. Tables of books, art, views to gardens that Charles built. It is just a beautiful design experience and made me think repeatedly, "when we get a house (again)..." We went on a private tour with our friends John and Melissa on a Friday night. We had the tour then a glass of champagne.

The best fact we learned is that Charles has a custom Aston Martin. Although all of his cars run on bio-dynamic fuels, this one is even better. It runs on red wine. After all of the banquets that occur at Clarence House, the empty all of the bits of red wine to help the car run.

A bit fanciful....but definitely makes me smile.