Claremont (country House) - Royal Residence

Royal Residence

In 1816 Claremont was bought by the British Nation by an Act of Parliament as a wedding present for George IV's daughter Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. At that time the estate was valued to Parliament at 60,000 pounds: "Mr Huskisson stated that it had been agreed to purchase the house and demesnes of Clermont... The valuation of the farms, farm-houses, and park, including 350 acres of land, was 36,000/; the mansion, 19,000/; and the furniture, 6,000/; making together 60,000/. The mansion, which is in good repair, could not be built now for less than 91,000/." To the nation's great sorrow, however, Princess Charlotte, who was heir to the throne, was, after two miscarriages, to die there after giving birth to a stillborn son in November the following year. Although Leopold retained ownership of Claremont until his death in 1865, he left the house in 1831 when he became the first King of the Belgians.

Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Claremont both as a child and later as an adult when Leopold, her doting uncle, lent her the house. She, in turn, lent the house to the exiled French king and queen Louis-Philippe and Marie-Amelie (the parents-in-law of Leopold I of Belgium) after the revolution of 1848.

Queen Victoria bought Claremont for her fourth and youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, when he married Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont in 1882. The Duke and Duchess of Albany had two children—Alice and Charles. In 1900, the latter became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and a German citizen.

Claremont should have passed to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg on his mother's death in 1922, but because he had served as a German general in the First World War, the British government disallowed the inheritance. Claremont was accordingly confiscated and sold by the Public Trustee to shipping magnate Sir William Corry, director of the Cunard Line. Two years after Sir William's death in 1926, it was bought by Eugen Spier, a wealthy German financier. In 1930 the Mansion stood empty and was marked for demolition when it was bought, together with the Belvedere, the stables and 30 acres (120,000 m2) of parkland, by the Governors of a south London school, later renamed Claremont School and since 1978 known as Claremont Fan Court School.