16. "Backstairs Billy", Clarence House, Westminster

Currently the official Royal residence of Charles and Camilla, Clarence house was previously the London home of Queen Elizebeth The Queen Mother from 1953 to 2002. It was during this time that Royal Courtier William Tallon rose from humble beginnings as a servant to become her closest aide, confidant, best friend and unofficial master of ceremonies.

Driven by both a deep love for the Queen Mother and an appetite for sex, Tallon became infamously known as ‘Backstairs Billy’ and towards the tail end of his career would spend evenings in Soho bars picking up men with the tantalising promise of a private tour back at the house. One such story goes that Billy invited a young man to take a seat on the Queen Mother’s favourite sofa where he then proceeded to have sex with him.

Eventually, with these scandals being broken by the media, Billy was moved to Gate Lodge, a small cottage separate to the main building where he stayed until the Queen Mother’s death in 2002.

Print is 20 x 25cm, unframed, signed, numbered and comes with the above accompanying text.