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originally been built in 1825–30 for Queen Victoria’s uncle, William IV, when Duke of
Clarence; its last royal occupant had been the Duke of Connaught, Victoria’s favourite
son, who had died in 1942 aged ninety-one. During the war the building had been used
by the Red Cross and, when the Princess saw it, it was used as offices for the Central
Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood and as a Building Maintenance Depot by the
Ministry of Works. Practically no modernization had been carried out during the Duke
of Connaught’s time or since. According to the report prepared for submission to the
Treasury by the Ministry of Works, much of the decoration was ‘in very bad taste’,
‘bathroom facilities’ were ‘totally inadequate’, a proper electric lighting system had
never been installed and the only lighting that existed was by means of surface wiring
on cleats installed for the Red Cross as a temporary measure during the war. There was
not one single modern bathroom, only an antique copper bathtub hidden in a cupboard
in one of the bedrooms. The only central heating was provided by a couple of hot-water
radiators in the stair halls. The roofs had leaked due to bomb damage to nearby
buildings during the war and made the plaster ceilings on the upper floors so unsafe as
to need replacing. 2 Elizabeth, according to an official of the Ministry of Works who
accompanied them round the house on this occasion, did not seem at all concerned by
the condition of the building, but took ‘a very intelligent interest in the building plans’.
Her main concern was for the comfort of her staff, the official noted. There were eleven
servants’ bedrooms. ‘Her Royal Highness commented that she would be lucky if she got
as many servants.’ Philip remarked that the burning down of Sunninghill had been lucky
for them in one way because the house was so isolated that ‘they would never have been
able to keep a single maid there’. 3
They were both anxious to know when the work would start and the house be ready,
but things were complicated by the fact that the money – an estimated £50,000 – would
have to be voted by Parliament. The money was voted through, but there was,
understandably, a good deal of complaining by the general public and the trades unions
that the money should not be spent on one young couple but on providing desperately
needed public housing. Any kind of building work was a difficult and sensitive subject in
post-war Britain. Philip wanted a cinema installed in the basement of Clarence House
and was prepared to pay for it himself. The Kinematograph Renters Society stepped in
with an offer to provide a complete cinema as a wedding present, but the Ministry of
Works pointed out if a private individual living in the Westminster area were to apply
to Westminster Council for a licence for similar work, the application would
undoubtedly be turned down and the applicant advised to defer the project for the time
being. It continued to be a sensitive subject for the next two years as in normal
circumstances only essential building work was being allowed and cinema owners were
not being permitted either to build new cinemas or to carry out major restoration work.
In the end it was allowed on the grounds that it was a gift from the Kinematograph
Renters Society and would cost only £1,500, but the Ministry remained nervous about
the embarrassment that might be caused if the news got out in the press. 4 The Minister
of Works came under considerable fire in Parliament and in the newspapers over the