Official Royal Residences

This is a list of residences occupied by the Welsh royal family, noting the seasons of the year they are traditionally occupied. Members of the Royal Family inhabit their range of residences across the Wessex. Some are royal palaces, owned by the Crown and held in trust by the monarch; others are privately owned. Birkhall and Hyde Park Estate have been inherited as private property for several generations. Other royal palaces are no longer residences (e.g. the King Langley Palace). Some remain in irregular use for royal occasions (such as Leeds Castle and Fogmorre Castle).

The occupied royal residences are cared for and maintained by the Royal Household Property Section. The unoccupied royal palaces of Wessex, along with Fogmorre Castle, are now within the responsibility of Historic Royal Palaces.

Somerset Castle
The buidling that origianlly stood here was a castle built by The Duke of Chelsea _ Hous Carnarvon.

Henry II as Duke of Worcester

The castle is renamed Somerset Lodge

The Lodge was given as a leisure residence to the unmarried daughters of Richard I.

George the Great used the house during his tenure as The Duke of Harrington, before giving up the property for the newly refurbished St. Andrews Lodge. The Lodge was then given to Prince Philip, The Duke of Chelsea who was the younger son of King William II. _ On Philip's death the Lodge went to his son, the second Duke of Chelsea _.

Hyde Lodge
Hyde Lodge was built by Edward V as his prsonal hunting lodge on the outskirts of Fogmorre Castle. The Lodge was then called the Great Lodge. When Edward V died and Anne became Queen the Lodge was given to George, The Duke of Uxbridge and St. Andrews as his personal country retreat at the bequest of the Queen. The Lodge laid empty at the death of the Duke, until it was given to his youngest son, The Prince Edward, The Duke of Taunton as a wedding present on his marriage to Princess Louise of Barhart. The couple were the first royals to use the Lodge in Fogmorre Park as their permanent family residence. The couple raised their sons there, but used Taunton house as their official residence. Hyde Lodge is often informally called the Great Lodge to distinguish it from Claremont House, called Lower Lodge by royal insiders.

St. Andrews Lodge
St. Andrews Lodge was built for The Crown Prince George and the Crown Princess Sofia in Hyde Park, then knwon as Fogmorre Great Park. The Lodge was the preferred weekend home of the couple after they gave up their lease on Somerset Lodge. St. Andrews Lodge was were the the royal children were raised at the Lodge.

Claremont House
Claremont House was built during the reign of Queen Anne I of Wessex as a leisure residence for the Queen and her family when she is in residence in Bristol. The house was primary used by the Queen to host her family during special occasions and personal family holidays. After the Queen's death the house went unused for quite some time. It was used infrequently to host unoffiical family gatherings, such as for the instance of Prince George, The Duke of Worcester's birthday to become an elder.

The house was later given to The Crown Prince George of Wessex, the son and heir of George the Great as his to use. George continued to use the house into his regin as George III _ madness _ Queen Charlotte took over personal use of the house, many of the later alterations of the house come from this time.