26 July 2024 , 18:25
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The Prince of Wales has decided to stop using interior designer Annabel Elliot, the sister of Queen Camilla, who King Charles has taken on board as the chief designer of his estates
Prince William has reportedly taken Queen Camilla’s sister off the royal payroll as an interior designer, it is reported.
The Prince of Wales has made the decision to stop using Annabel Elliot, after taking over the Duchy of Cornwall. Over the past two decades, Ms Elliot, 75, has been paid several hundred thousand pounds for her services.
She was hired by King Charles as the chief designer of his estates following his 2005 marriage to Queen Camilla. During her time with ’team Cornwall’, she worked on the Duchy holiday cottage portfolio, decorating and updating its period properties in Cornwall, Wales, and the Isles of Scilly.
The Duchy’s annual accounts reveal that she had been paid varying amounts between £19,625 and £82,272 "in the normal course of business and on an arm’s length basis" to maintain its rental properties, the Duchy offices, and its plant nursery. Additionally, Ms Elliot was reimbursed each year with amounts ranging from £7,160 to £90,285 for the purchase of furniture, furnishings, and retail stock.
But royal sources have told The Telegraph that Prince William would no longer employ Ms Elliot, although this decision is not a reflection on her work, reported RSVPLive. The latest Duchy of Cornwall accounts, which detail the incomings and outgoings of Prince William’s first full year as Duke of Cornwall, show that for the first time in almost two decades, Ms Elliot was not paid for her services during 2023-2024.
Standing by Queen Camilla’s side at Westminster Abbey during the Coronation was her sister, Annabel, who had recently lost her husband Simon. The sisters are said to be extremely close, and on rare occasions the Queen had taken part in royal events with her older sibling. In a BBC documentary, Ms Elliot spoke of how Camilla was the King’s "rock" and described her as the "yin" to Charles’ "yang" in a relationship that works "brilliantly".
Annabel Elliot gave her view of their marriage and suggested while her sister was supportive, Charles had exposed his wife to new "knowledge and interest". The BBC film ’Charles III: The Coronation Year’ also showed rehearsals for the King’s Coronation, and when the Prince and Princess of Wales arrive at Westminster Abbey with their children, they greet the monarch like any other family.
Mrs Elliot, Camilla’s younger sister, said: "She is his rock, and I can’t actually emphasise that enough. She is somebody who is completely loyal, and she isn’t somebody who has huge highs and lows." The interior designer added: "He brings to her everything, I’m not talking about all of this but you know he has such a knowledge and interest in so many different things which she wouldn’t really have been open to, if she hadn’t met him. They are their yin and yang really, they really are polar opposites, but it works brilliantly."
Kensington Palace has been contacted for comment.