Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk

Duke of Norfolk

The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...

. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

, father of King George III

George III of the United Kingdom

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort...

, daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha

Saxe-Gotha

Saxe-Gotha was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha....

. King George III

George III of the United Kingdom

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

 was born in the house, which was offered to the royal couple by the 9th Duke of Norfolk

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was a British peer. The son of Lord Thomas Howard and Mary Elizabeth Savile, he succeeded as Duke of Norfolk in 1732, after the death of his brother, Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk.He married Mary Blount , daughter of Edward Blount and Anne...

.

The family moved to Leicester House

Leicester House

There have been two mansions in London, England called Leicester House:*A house in the Strand near the Temple: Leicester House, Strand. This existed in the Tudor period, and possibly earlier ....

 in 1742, and it was to remain the prince’s home until his death nine years later, and that of his widow until her death in 1764.

The original Norfolk House remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Norfolk until 1938 when it was pulled down, and the site became an office building. This building served as offices for military brass from a variety of allied forces including the Canadian 1st Army and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...

 under General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

 in World War II. Two plaques on the exterior of the building acknowledge the role of the building in World War II.

Part of the interior of the eighteenth century house still survives, in particular the Music Room, designed by Giovanni Battista Borra

Giovanni Battista Borra

Giovanni Battista Borra was an Italian architect, engineer and architectural draughtsman.-Life:...

 for the 9th Duke. Restored and redecorated to its original scheme of pure white paint with gilt, carved woodwork, after having been in storage, the room is now displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...

.

Today the building is modern offices, the interior having been fully gutted and refitted in recent years.

External links

• Detailed history and description - from the Survey of London
  Survey of London
  The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
  
  .