mint

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 7, 2003

My, How Times Change

Britain’s Prince Charles is throwing open his new London mansion to give the public a rare glimpse of the lavish abode he will share with his two sons and long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles.

The 54-year-old heir-to-the-throne took up official residence on Monday at Clarence House — a cream-coloured, five-storey home built in the 1820s and occupied by the Queen Mother for half a century until her death last year. 

Courtiers showed reporters round yesterday, and members of the public have already snapped up all 46,000 tickets for tours that will run until October. Anyone else interested in checking out the new royal digs can view Clarence House on the Internet; links are also on Prince Charles’ page. 

“The prince thinks the place is wonderful and he wanted people to see it,” Charles’ treasurer, Kevin Knott, told Reuters on the lawn in front of Clarence House yesterday. “It is just as he will live in it. It resonates his grandmother. And it’s a wonderful opportunity for people to see more of the royal art collection than they would otherwise.” (Reuters)