The Household of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall is the organised office and support system for Charles, Prince of Wales, in his role as heir apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and for his consort The Duchess of Cornwall. At the time of their 2009 Annual Review the Office of the Prince of Wales had the full-time equivalent of 121 staff. The head of the Household is the Principal Private Secretary, William Nye. Senior officials include the Private Secretary, Mark Leishman; the Master of the Household, Wg Cdr Richard Pattle; the Treasurer, Leslie Ferrar; Communications Secretary, Patrick Harverson and Press Secretary, Patrick Harrison; the Director of The Prince's Charities, Sir Tom Shebbeare ; and the Equerry, Maj Will Mackinlay.
In 2000 an Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales was appointed. The first holder of the office was Miss Catrin Finch. The Prince of Wales revived a tradition of having Welsh harpists by appointing Ms Finch. She was the first to receive a similar post since one was last granted in 1871 by Queen Victoria to John Thomas. In 2004 Catrin Finch was replaced by Miss Jemima Phillips, who in turn was replaced by Miss Claire Jones in 2007.
The Prince of Wales' Office is principally based at Clarence House, London, but also occupies rooms in the rest of St James's Palace. There are also offices for official staff at Highgrove House and Birkhall House, The Prince of Wales's private residences. In November 2006, The Prince of Wales bought his first home in Wales, the Llwynywormwood estate near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, which he plans to use when he and The Duchess of Cornwall are visiting the country. The estate consists of an ex-coachhouse and is set in almost 200 acres (0.81 km2) of rolling parkland
Most of the expenses incurred in operating the office comes from The Prince of Wales's private appanage, the Duchy of Cornwall. The only significant costs met by grant-in-aid provided by the Government is for the upkeep of Clarence House, and for official travel by air and rail, and for communications support.
Details of The Prince's Senior Staff are available in his Office's Annual Reports. The following titles all have "to/of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall" suffixed when written in full. Prior to the Prince's 2005 marriage, they were instead suffixed "to/of The Prince of Wales".
Read more about this topic: Royal Households Of The United Kingdom
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