A new tenant will be moving into Number 11 (Picture: Getty Images)
Downing Street has been in the news a lot more than usual lately.
With the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minister after just 44 days before Rishi Sunak took the top position, we’ve seen the famous black doors of Number 10 more than we may have expected.
As Mr Sunak has become head of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, a flurry of new faces have been appointed cabinet positions in the latest reshuffle.
This means some of the residences of Downing Street will be getting a reshuffle of their own – and not just Number 10.
Next door to the famous home of the Prime Minister is Number 11, a residence equally as important in the running of government as it is the official residence of Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The first Chancellor to live there was Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice in 1806, but Number 11 did not become the Chancellor’s official residence until 1828.
That means that, at present, Jeremy Hunt should reside at Number 11 after being appointed this position in Mr Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt should reside at Number 11 (Picture: PA)
However, from 1997 onwards, Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson chose to reside for all or part of their term of office in one of the four bedrooms of the flat.
This is because Number 11 is supposedly roomier than its famous neighbour.
Since her tenure in office was so short, it’s not known whether the last PM, Ms Truss, lived on Downing Street – though a removal van was spotted at Downing Street on her final day in office.
As for Mr Sunak, it’s too early to say whether he’ll opt to live at Number 10 or Number 11 as PM.
Number 11 was built in 1682 (Picture: Getty Images)
The residence was built by Sir George Downing alongside Number 10 in 1682.
Number 11 is a yellow-brick converted Georgian mansion, overlooking St. James’s Park and Horse Guards Parade.
It includes a sitting room and study, a state dining room, and a drawing room.
The hallway features a grandfather clock and marble fireplace as well as portraits of two political giants, former prime ministers William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.
Carrie Symonds reportedly commissioned upmarket interior designer Lulu Lytle to refurbish the Downing Street flat (Picture: Guy Bell/Rex)
From inside, you can walk freely to Number 10 through internal connecting doors as well as The Cabinet Office on Whitehall.
The residence is currently part of an Electoral Commission inquiry investigating a refurbishment Boris Johnson set underway in March 2020, known as the Cash-for-Curtains scandal.
Scrutiny on the refurbishment has refused to go away despite No 10’s efforts to draw a line under the issue, with it being revealed the costs of the refurbishment cost £112,549.
Downing Street said the renovation costs of Mr Johnson’s living quarters, beyond those provided for by the £30,000 annual allowance, had been ‘met by the Prime Minister personally’, adding: ‘Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.’
The former Prime Minister was said to be shocked by the escalating costs (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The Daily Mail alleged Mr Johnson became shocked at the escalating bill as the coronavirus crisis was unfolding.
He is said to have raged to aides: ‘The cost is totally out of control – she’s buying gold wallpaper!’
It’s believed the PM’s partner Carrie Symonds hired upmarket interior eco designer, Lulu Lytle, whose Soane Britain company sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper.
When the aides asked Mr Johnson much the upgrades were costing, he reportedly replied: ‘Tens and tens of thousands – I can’t afford it.’
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Number 10 isn’t the only Downing Street home with a new tenant.