Rent-free home provided by the monarch
This article is about the monarchal grant. For the British television sitcom, see
Grace & Favour.
Agrace-and-favour home is aresidential property owned by amonarch, government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of theperquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered.[1]
Usage of the term is chiefly British.[1] In the United Kingdom, these homes are mostly owned bythe Crown or a charity and, in modern times, are often within the gift of theprime minister. Most of these properties are taxed as a "benefit in kind", although this status does not apply toDowning Street or any home granted for security purposes, such asthe residence of theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland.[2] They are at times granted to senior politicians.[3]
It is possible that the term crept into English through the writings ofNiccolò Machiavelli, who wrote of advisers who are ministersper grazia e concessione, which has been translated as "through grace and favour".[4]
In 1986, 120 grace-and-favour apartments were owned by the monarch, the most splendid being atKensington Palace where thePrince andPrincess of Wales,Duke andDuchess of Gloucester, andPrince andPrincess Michael of Kent lived. There are also some atWindsor Castle, andBuckingham Palace.St James's Palace had 20 apartments.Lord Kitchener once lived there, as did theDuke of Windsor. Most apartments are modest, some two rooms, inhabited mostly by retired members of the household staff.Hampton Court Palace apartments were generally occupied by retired soldiers and diplomats or (more usually) by their widows. Grace and favour apartments have been discontinued at Hampton Court following a major fire there caused by a grace and favour resident. There were once 69. In 1986, this had dwindled to 15.[5]
In the latter part ofQueen Victoria's reign,Frogmore Cottage in theHome Park, Windsor, was the grace and favour residence of her Indian attendant,Abdul Karim (the Munshi). In 2018, it was renovated forPrince Harry, Duke of Sussex andMeghan, Duchess of Sussex, who moved into it in the spring of 2019.[6]
Other residences include:
- 10 Downing Street,City of Westminster – official residence of theFirst Lord of the Treasury (now always theprime minister of the United Kingdom)
- Chequers,Ellesborough,Buckinghamshire – official country house of the prime minister
- 11 Downing Street, Westminster – official residence of thechancellor of the exchequer (Second Lord of the Treasury)
- 12 Downing Street, Westminster – formerly the official residence of thechief whip, now the site of the Downing Street Press Office
- Dorneywood,Burnham – official ministerial residence; a country residence usually for use of the chancellor, or for thedeputy prime minister (used by chancellor during theMay ministry)
- Admiralty House, Westminster – official ministerial residence
- 1 Carlton Gardens, Westminster – official ministerial residence; usually for theforeign secretary
- Speaker's House,Palace of Westminster, Westminster – official residence of the Commons'Speaker
- Lord Speaker's Apartments, Palace of Westminster, Westminster – official residence of theLord Speaker
- Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace – previously occupied by members of the royal family or by senior courtiers
- Garden House,Mayfair – official residence of theCommonwealth Secretary-General
- Adelaide Cottage – a royal family property located just 10 minutes' walk from the King's residence in Windsor, now the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children
- The houses ofVicars' Close, owned by Wells Cathedral and occupied by its choir, since the 14th century.[7]
Mary Treadgold's novel for children,The Winter Princess (1962), concerns a child who comes to stay in a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court.[8][9]
View of numbers 10, 11, and 12 Downing Street – official residences of the First Lord of the Treasury (Prime Minister), Second Lord of the Treasury (Chancellor of the Exchequer), and the Chief Whip
Chequers – official country residence of the Prime Minister
Admiralty House – official ministerial residence
Admiralty Arch – formerly an official ministerial residence
Hillsborough Castle – official ministerial residence for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Palace of Westminster – housing the official residences of the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords
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