Marlborough House

City of Westminster, United Kingdom

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Marlborough House, a Grade I listed Georgian mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, was built in 1711 by Christopher Wren for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, favourite of Queen Anne. For over a century it served as the London residence of the dukes of Marlborough before becoming a royal residence through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The house was expanded for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, and became closely associated with his social circle during the Victorian era. Queen Mary, both as Princess of Wales and later in widowhood, took a special continuing interest in the building; memorials to her and Queen Alexandra, who also returned there after her husband's death, stand on its grounds. Since 1965, when Queen Elizabeth II leased it to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House has served as the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations.