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Ancient and Modern

...ty - even royalty. Courtauld also used his millions to follow his passions for collecting art, sailing his yacht Virginia and developing the British film industry. You step foot first into the round entrance hall, which has been used in countless films and TV series (most recently, in The Crown). It features impressive intarsia inlay and a round rug that demands to be walked upon (you’re not supposed to). Leading off the hall you’ll come upon the elegant Italianate dining room, the boudoir and library, while two staircases take you to the bedrooms of Stephen and Virginia, as well as her nephews Peter and Paul, whose shared bathroom was the only one with...

The Royal Queens of Hammersmith

...As we celebrate The Queen’s 70 years on the throne I’ve had a look at other royal connections to my nearby borough of Hammersmith.  As you emerge from Stamford Brook Underground station, to the left once stood the Queen Charlotte Maternity Hospital, named after the consort of George III, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818). It’s now in East Acton but when it was in W6, in 1945 Helen Mirren was born there. Appropriately she played Queen Charlotte in the film The Madness of King George. Further east, on the site of the present-day Latimer Prep School once stood Rivercourt House. For 4 years, between 1687 and 1691, it was the home of...