Marlborough House – Private Tour

Marlborough House is a Grade I listed mansion that was built for Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744) whose close friendship with Queen Anne was the story of the 2018 film The Favourite.  We enjoy a  private tour to view this splendid and historic building and hear the stories behind its many occupants over the centuries. 

Sir Christopher Wren, the Surveyor of the Queen’s Work, was commissioned in 1709  to draw up plans for Marlborough House on a site  near St James’s Palace, Westminster where it was completed in 1711. It became a Royal Residence in 1817 and has been occupied over the years by some five Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough, three Dowager Queens of the United Kingdom, three Princes of Wales who later became Kings of the United Kingdom and Prince Leopold, who became King of the Belgians.

The Fine Rooms of Marlborough House contain exquisite murals, tapestries, paintings and sculptures which relay the history of the building and its various occupants over many centuries. A particular highlight is a stunning central ceiling panel painted by Orazio Gentileschi that was originally painted for the Great Hall at the Queen’s House in Greenwich but is thought to have been transferred to Marlborough House during its construction in 1710.

The gardens retain their 18th century layout of gravel paths and grass lawns and weather permitting, we may also be able to see Queen Mary’s thatched revolving summer house and the Royal Pet Cemetery of Queen Alexandra.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, made Marlborough House available to the Commonwealth in 1959. It became home to the Commonwealth Secretariat upon its creation in 1965 and since then has been the venue for a number of independence negotiations and many Commonwealth conferences, including summit meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government. The House was extensively renovated by the British Government between 1989 and 1993. 

Image credit: Exterior of Marlborough House – courtesy of The Commonwealth Secretariat