Queen Camilla’s interior designer sister is no longer on the Duchy of Cornwall’s payroll after Prince William took over the firm, its latest accounts revealed today.
Annabel Elliot, 75, was hired as chief estate designer by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales following his marriage to her older sister Camilla in 2005.
She was paid hundreds of thousands of pounds over two decades to decorate and update the Duchy’s period holiday homes in Cornwall, Wales and the Isles of Scilly.
But the Duchy’s latest accounts showed that Ms Elliot was not paid for her services during 2023/24. Sources have now confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that William would no longer employ Ms Elliot, but insisted this was no reflection on her work.
MailOnline also understands that hers was always a “temporary contract” and that it had now “come to an end and the Duchy team has learned from her”.
Queen Camilla and Annabel Elliot at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships on July 10
Prince William during a visit to the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery in Cornwall in July 2023
King Charles, Queen Camilla and Annabel Elliot on Coronation Day, 6 May 2023
In a section of the accounts headed “related party transactions”, it was noted that Ms Elliot had been paid “in the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s length basis”.
He also revealed how he was previously paid “fees and commissions” and reimbursed separately for the “purchase of furniture, fixtures and retail stock”.
There was some controversy when Mrs Elliot was hired by the Duchy, given her family ties and the fact that her contract was never put out to commercial tender.
But royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said it made “perfect sense” to put her on the Duchy’s payroll, and that it was “considered a success”.
He told MailOnline today: “She did an extremely important job as lead designer, working extensively on interiors and updating period properties on the estate.”
Mr Fitzwilliams described Ms Elliot as “highly respected” but added: “It is natural that Prince William, now that he has inherited the Duchy, would want to put his own stamp on the estate.
Annabel Elliot with her husband Simon Elliot in 2011. Elliot passed away in March last year.
Annabel Elliot greets the then Prince Charles at Poundbury, Dorset, in November 2004
‘Their priorities include building social rental housing and ensuring properties are targeted for homeless people, as well as environmental issues.
‘The removal of the Queen’s sister, who held the post for two decades and is 75, means it will be easier for her to implement a new approach and this will no doubt be understood by the King and Queen.’
Last December, the Daily Mail reported that Ms Elliot had recently been hired to carry out work at the king’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, as well as “renovate” several commercial properties at Balmoral, including a major extension to the castle’s gift shop.
The Duchy’s latest accounts said: ‘During the period to 8 September 2022, the Duchy paid Mrs Annabel Elliot, sister-in-law of the 24th Duke of Cornwall, in the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s length basis, £19,625 in fees and commissions and £12,316 in respect of the purchase of furniture, furnishings and retail stock for the Duchy of Cornwall’s holiday accommodation, the Duchy’s offices and the Duchy Nursery.
Camilla and Annabel Elliot together in 1952 when they were four and two years old respectively.
Camilla and Annabel Elliot at Highgrove for Prince Charles’ 50th birthday celebrations in 1998
‘As at 31 March 2024 there remained £0 (2023: £0) payable to Mrs Elliot in respect of these.’
This line was an adapted repetition of a similar section under the same heading in last year’s Duchy accounts.
Last year’s entry read: ‘During the period to 8 September 2022, the Duchy paid to Mrs Annabel Elliot, sister-in-law of the 24th Duke of Cornwall, in the ordinary course of business and on an arm’s length basis, £19,625 (2022: £32,920) in fees and commissions and £12,316 (2022: £30,373) in respect of the purchase of furniture, fittings and retail stock for the Duchy of Cornwall’s holiday accommodation, the Duchy offices and the Duchy nursery.’
‘As at 31 March 2023 there remained £0 (2022: £5,376) payable to Ms 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 the few people given permission by Buckingham Palace to speak about their relationship and the coronation for BBC One’s Boxing Day 2023 documentary about the King’s first year.
Mrs Elliot was seen leading 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 that Charles and Camilla first formalised their relationship, posing for their first public photographs together on the hotel steps.
Mrs Elliot and her husband, businessman and landowner Simon Elliot, even joined the newlyweds when they honeymooned in Scotland after their wedding in 2005.
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 House Party app, which existed for a brief period, so they could stay in touch during lockdown, sources told the Mail at the time.
But Mrs Elliot suffered immense grief when 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 at her sister’s side for the coronation in May, wiping a tear from her cheek as she watched Camilla drive away in her golden carriage.
Many had hoped Ms Elliot would become a companion to the Queen, Camilla’s six close friends who have replaced the more traditional ladies-in-waiting at Buckingham Palace as her aides and guardians.
But a source previously told the Mail they decided against it “because neither of them wanted the balance of their relationship to be affected by a formal role”.
A spokesperson for Ms Elliot’s company, Annabel Elliot, told MailOnline today that she would not be commenting.
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