The British Ambassador's Residence in Paris is one of the

most splendid historic homes in the French capital and the

most impressive of all British ambassadorial residences

abroad. The author, Tim Knox, charts the stirring story

of the house, from its origins as the home of the Ducs de

Charost, to its opulent heyday under Napoleon's sister,

Pauline Bonaparte, Princess Borghese, much of whose

luxurious furniture and decoration survives intact. Since

1814, when Pauline sold the house to the 1st Duke of

Wellington, the mansion has served as the residence

of successive British Ambassadors to France, who altered

the house to suit their taste and character, notably Sir Duff

Cooper and his beautiful wife, Lady Diana, whose

Empire-style study is still redolent of their brilliant social

circle in post-war Paris. This beautiful house in the rue du

Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, furnished with masterpieces of

French Empire furniture and decorative arts, English

silver, and paintings by British artists, remains a splendid,

but hard-working setting for promoting the Franco-British

relationship.