Prince William is ‘putting his own stamp’ on the Duchy of Cornwall after ‘removing’ Queen Camilla ‘s interior designer sister from the payroll as he considers more contemporary styles, a royal expert said today.
Annabel Elliot, 75, was employed as chief estates designer by King Charles III when he was the Prince of Wales after his marriage to her elder sister Camilla in 2005.
She was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds over two decades to decorate and update the Duchy’s period holiday cottages in Cornwall, Wales and the Isles of Scilly.
Mrs Elliot was also employed to oversee a huge interior design commission from the Duchy on the 20-bedroom ‘Duchess of Cornwall’ pub in Poundbury, Dorset – and worked on the Duchy’s office in Restormel, Cornwall, as well as Penlyne Nursery.
But the latest Duchy accounts showed that Mrs Elliot was not paid for her services during 2023/24. Sources have now confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that William will no longer employ Mrs Elliot, but insisted this was not a reflection on her work.
Mrs Elliot has previously spoken of her love of Georgian furniture and how her antiques dealer background ‘gives me an appreciation of combining old and new’.
But William now appears to be focusing on new, modern developments such as the 2,500 properties planned for Faversham in Kent including 400 social rented homes.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline today that it made ‘perfect sense’ to employ Mrs Elliot on the Duchy payroll, and it is ‘considered to have been a success’.
He added: ‘She did extremely significant work as chief designer, working extensively on interiors and updating period properties on the estate.’
Queen Camilla and Annabel Elliot at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships on July 10
Restormel Cottage in the Fowey Valley in Cornwall, which is part of the Duchy estate’s portfolio of holiday homes and was refurbished by Annabel Elliot
Annabel Elliot also worked on The Guard House, another Duchy property on the Isle of Scilly
Mr Fitzwilliams described Mrs Elliot as being ‘highly respected’, but added: ‘It is only natural for Prince William, now he has inherited the Duchy, to want to put his own stamp on the estate.
‘His priorities include building social rented homes and ensuring properties are earmarked for the homeless as well as environmental issues.
‘His removal of the Queen’s sister, who has had the job for two decades and who is 75, means it will be easier for him to implement a new approach and this will undoubtedly be understood by the King and Queen.’
Speaking about a possible difference in style, Mr Fitzwilliams added: ‘The King has famously and at times controversially championed traditional styles.
‘Annabel Eliot’s work for him naturally reflected his tastes. Prince William may choose a replacement whose outlook is more contemporary.’
In addition, MailOnline understands that hers was always a ‘temporary contract’ and that it had now ‘come to an end and the Duchy team have learnt from her’.
Mrs Elliot has previously spoken about her favourite elements of interior design.
Giving some tips to the Telegraph in 2014, she said: ‘Georgian furniture is underrated; you can pick it up for very little and it works well in a minimal, contemporary space.
Annabel Elliot was also involved in the interior design of the Duchess of Cornwall pub in Poundbury, Dorset. Charles and Camilla are pictured together in the pub in October 2016
Prince William during a visit to the Duchy of Cornwall nursery in Cornwall in July 2023
‘You can be imaginative without spending lots of money. I have created a look with lots of recycled things – old ticking fabric and sacking, and covering lamps with old wallpaper.’
She added: ‘There’s no such thing as good or bad taste. I always use something a client already has and loves – it may be a painting or a rug – and tap into that.
‘I had no formal training, but my background as an antiques dealer gives me an appreciation of combining old and new. I believe in adapting, recycling, and taking yourself with you when you move.
‘It’s extraordinary how in London, particularly, people seem to buy houses and chuck out everything. A room needs a sense of having evolved.’
In a section in the accounts under ‘related party transactions’, Mrs Elliot was noted to have been paid ‘in the normal course of business and on an arm’s length basis’.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and Annabel Elliot on the day of the Coronation on May 6, 2023
Annabel Elliot with her husband Simon Elliot in 2011. Mr Elliot died in March last year
It also revealed how she was previously paid for ‘fees and commission’ and separately reimbursed for the ‘purchase of furniture, furnishings and retail stock’.
There was some controversy when Mrs Elliot was employed by the Duchy, given her familial links and that her contract was never put out to commercial tender.
But a spokeswoman previously said that Mrs Elliot understands the Duchy’s commitment to environmental sustainability and to sympathetic design which is in-keeping with the local area.
She also pointed out that Mrs Elliot had been instrumental in helping the holiday cottages to achieve five-star ratings.
Last December, the Daily Mail reported that Mrs Elliot had been recently employed to undertake work on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk as well as ‘refreshing’ several commercial properties at Balmoral, including a major expansion of the castle gift shop.
The latest Duchy accounts said: ‘During the period to September 8, 2022 the Duchy paid Mrs Annabel Elliot, the 24th Duke of Cornwall’s sister-in-law, in the normal course of business and on an arm’s length basis £19,625 for fees and commission and £12,316 for the purchase of furniture, furnishings and retail stock for the Duchy of Cornwall holiday accommodation, Duchy offices and Duchy Nursery.
Camilla and Annabel Elliot together in 1952 when they were aged four and two respectively
Camilla and Annabel Elliot at Highgrove for Prince Charles’s 50th birthday celebrations in 1998
Annabel Elliot greets then-Prince Charles at Poundbury in Dorset in November 2004
‘At March 31, 2024 there was £nil (2023: £nil) remaining payable to Mrs Elliot in respect of these.’
This line was an adapted repeat of a similar section under the same heading in last year’s Duchy accounts.
The entry last year said: ‘During the period to September 8, 2022, the Duchy paid Mrs Annabel Elliot, the 24th Duke of Cornwall’s sister-in-law, in the normal course of business and on an arm’s length basis £19,625 (2022: £32,920) for fees and commission and £12,316 (2022: £30,373) for the purchase of furniture, furnishings and retail stock for the Duchy of Cornwall holiday accommodation, Duchy offices and Duchy Nursery.
‘At March 31, 2023 there was £nil (2022: £5,376) remaining payable to Mrs Elliot in respect of these.’
Camilla and Annabel Elliot with Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles in London in March 2014
Annabel Elliot and Camilla watch Andy Murray in action at Wimbledon in July 2015
Camilla and Mrs Elliot were born 18 months apart and are known to speak to each other every day. The Queen’s sister is a regular at palace functions – and accompanied her to Wimbledon a fortnight ago on July 10.
She was one of just a handful of people Buckingham Palace gave permission to speak about their relationship and the Coronation for BBC One’s documentary on Boxing Day 2023 about the King’s first year.
Mrs Elliot was seen driving her sister away from waiting photographers when John Major announced the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1992.
And it was at her 50th birthday celebrations at the Ritz in 1999 where Charles and Camilla first formalised their relationship, posing for their first public pictures together on the hotel steps.
Mrs Elliot and her husband, businessman and landowner Simon Elliot, even joined the newlyweds when they honeymooned in Scotland following their 2005 wedding.
Opening the Duchess of Cornwall pub in Poundbury with her sister Annabel Elliot in 2016
Camilla and Annabel Elliot attend the Chelsea Flower Show together in London in 2007
During the pandemic the two women even joined the briefly-lived House Party app so they could keep in touch whilst in lockdown, sources told the Mail at the time.
But Mrs Elliot suffered immense heartache as she tragically lost her husband of 50 years after a long illness in March last year, just weeks before the Coronation.
The King was among the mourners at the funeral in Dorset, but Mrs Elliot was still by her sister’s side for the Coronation in May, wiping a tear from her cheek as she watched Camilla drive off in her golden coach.
Many had expected Mrs Elliot to become a Queen’s Companion, Camilla’s six close friends who have replaced the more traditional Ladies-in-Waiting at Buckingham Palace as her helpers and gatekeepers.
But a source previously told the Mail that they decided against this ‘because neither of them wanted the balance of their relationship to be impacted by a formal role.’
A spokesman for Mrs Elliot’s company Annabel Elliot told MailOnline today that she would not be commenting.
