Camilla's dad gets a bedroom

[kasper]

From:  PWC (thanks to STevie)

DAILY MAIL, April 29, 2003

CAMILLA'S DAD GETS A ROYAL BEDROOM

RICHARD KAY

Camilla Parker Bowles is not the only member of her family who will
join Prince Charles when he moves to Clarence House.

A guest room is to be provided for her elderly father, Major Bruce
Shand.

The Queen Mother's former home, refurbished at a GBP 4.6million cost
to the taxpayer, will in the next few weeks become the London address
for the prince and his lover when they move from St James's Palace.

Over the last decade the 86-year-old major, a widower, has been
a 'tower of strength' to the couple and they want to repay the
favour. The gesture is another compelling sign of 55-year-old
Camilla's permanence in the Prince of Wales's life. When she and
Charles move in she will be just 200 yards from Buckingham Palace.
Yet she will also be able to keep an eye on her father, a World War
II hero who twice received the Military Cross.

At the moment Major Shand lives mostly with his younger daughter
Annabel Elliott at her home in Dorset, but she will soon be spending
more time in America where she is opening an antiques business.

Clarence House was the Queen Mother's home for half a century, from
the death of her husband George VI in 1952 to her death in 2002.

During her last years she was careful not to be seen as endorsing
Charles's relationship with Camilla.

Yet in private she provided considerable support for the couple,
allowing them to use Birkhall, her retreat at Balmoral, whenever they
wished. Her only proviso was that she could not be there at the same
time.

Camilla, who has been overseeing the refit of Clarence House, checked
over her new premises five days ago. She will also have use of a
ground-floor office with phones, fax and computer.

Upstairs she will have her own suite on the second floor - next door
to the prince - comprising bedroom, bathroom and sitting room.

There are three other suites on the same floor, one each for Charles,
William and Harry. The renovations will provide four other bedrooms
for guests and one of these is for the major.

'He won't be living there permanently - it is just a place for him to
stay when he is in London,' said a friend of Camilla.

'After all, Clarence House will be her home too and it is entirely
natural that if you have an elderly relative you need to keep an eye
on, you move them in with you. He is not ill but he is a bit frail.

'As it happens the prince is very fond of Major Shand. Throughout the
bad days of his divorce he was a great support and a tower of
strength both to him and Camilla for which he is grateful. This is
his way of saying thank you and there is plenty of room at Clarence
House.'

Following his wife Rosalind's death from the brittle bone disease
osteoporosis, Major Shand briefly moved in with Camilla at her home
in Lacock, Wiltshire.

But there was not enough room to accommodate him at St James's
Palace, where Prince Charles and Mrs Parker Bowles live during the
week. Most of the building is taken up with offices.

When the Queen allocated Clarence House to Charles following her
mother's death last April, he began a massive renovation project. It
had not been decorated since 1947 when Prince Philip and the then
Princess Elizabeth - newly married - moved in.

It has been structurally refurbished at taxpayers' expense through
grant-in-aid - money earmarked for the maintenance of occupied royal
palaces. But Charles is spending a further GBP 2mil-lion of his own
on a redesign of his private quarters by Robert Kime, the interior
designer.

Mr Kime, who redecorated High-grove after the prince's separation
from Princess Diana, is in addition working on the renovation of
Birkhall, which also passed to her favourite grandson.

Last night a source involved in the project told the Mail: 'Clarence
House has been redecorated not grandly but in a sensitive and
understated way. It was very much the prince's wish that it should
still have the spirit of his grandmother and that there should be
little change.

'It has been decorated using the same shades of white and cream and
the style of the furnishings is just the same.'

The source denied there had been extravagance lavished on the
project. 'We have not used gold leaf but bronze leaf because it ages
better and gives it the feel that it was when Queen Elizabeth lived
there, which is what the prince wanted. Bronze leaf is also one fifth
of the price of gold leaf.'

The decorations include no wall coverings. 'There is no wallpaper in
the place except one room which has a fabric covering and which has
been restored by cleaning,' the source said.

Workers had to rip out old asbestos walls and ceilings and completely
rewire the building. Wooden floors have been re-polished and many
pieces of furniture re-upholstered but kept faithful to original
designs.

By the time it is finished early in the summer a further 18 bedrooms
in buildings attached to Clarence House will be available for staff
accommodation and as guest rooms for friends of William and Harry.

'There is a lot more space than at St James's Palace,' said an aide.

* The ground-floor official rooms of Clarence House will open to the
public from August 6 as part of Buckingham Palace's summer opening.
Tickets will cost GBP 5 for adults and GBP 3 for under 17s.