Prince to open Queen Mum’s renovated home

Prince Charles’ new London house, a 14-room white stucco mansion that was his grandmother’s home for 50 years, opened to the public last week after $9.7 million in renovations.

The Prince of Wales will live upstairs at Clarence House and use the ground floor of the 1827 home for entertaining and charity receptions, said Kevin Knott, the prince’s finance director.

About 70% of the cost of the renovations was financed by taxpayers. The prince paid for the rest of the work, which included covering the modern and 18th century furniture with new fabrics and decorating a bedroom for Prince Charles’ partner, Camilla Parker Bowles, Knott said.