For Prince Charles’ Birthday, Google Offers A Peek Inside Clarence House, Highgrove & More


Prince Charles is giving something back to the public in honor of his 70th birthday, complete with a Google tour — via YouTube — of his residences at Clarence House, Highgrove, Dumfries, and Gloucestershire. The tour is also known as the Royal Street View. Think of it as a virtual open house, or a peek behind the royal curtain.

The Express shared Prince Charles’ gift to all in honor of his 70th birthday, with Charles’ intent to be to share a bit of his life behind closed doors. The prince teamed up with some expert Google photographers to give the world a 360-degree tour of his living quarters, for the first time, at the click of a keyboard.

Virtual guests of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrive at Clarence House — their primary residence — through the Entrance Hall and through the Breakfast Room.

“Members of the public can even zoom in and out at any time during the virtual tour, allowing them to view The Royal Collection’s historical artwork and furniture in as little or as much detail as possible.”

On the tour, the public can also leaf through the Prince of Wales’ private photo album, which contains candid photos as well as posed ones of the whole royal family — including Princes William and Harry.

Prince Charles’ art collection, as well as the watercolors he painted himself, are also on display. They are joined by framed photos of the prince as a baby and as a young boy.

Suhair Khan, head of Google U.K.’s arts and culture department, explains that this is a first-time experience on many levels.

“This is a journey through Clarence House and the personal collection of His Royal Highness and the royal family. Now using 360-degree imagery anyone can stroll down the halls, explore the art collection, go from one room to another and really come up close with a lot of the artworks.”

Some might think that the prince was reluctant to be so exposed, but when he heard about the project from Google, he was thrilled to participate. Charles continued offering more and more access, according to his communications secretary Julian Payne.

“When we received the invitation to develop the site for the prince he was honored and I think fascinated by what could be done for the charities more than anything else, but also understood to share things like the artwork in Clarence House.”

The new Prince Charles documentary, Prince, Son, and Heir: Prince Charles at 70 shows the man as he is on a daily basis, per the Inquisitr, as he talks about his likes and dislikes. The crew followed him for a year before this birthday media blitz, and the documentary presents the portrait of an intellectually curious man — sparing no detail.

Share this article: For Prince Charles’ Birthday, Google Offers A Peek Inside Clarence House, Highgrove & More
More from Inquisitr