Hôtel de Charost

Hôtel de Charost
The Official Residence of Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to France.
The Hôtel de Charost seen from the gardens.
Location within Paris
General information
Location	Paris, France
Address	39, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris, France
Current tenants	Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Construction started	1720
Completed	1722
Client	Armand de Bethune, 2nd Duke of Charost and governor of Louis XV.
Technical details
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Architect(s)	fr:Antoine Mazin

Hôtel de Charost is a hôtel particulier located at 39 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. Since 1814 it is the official residence of the United Kingdom ambassador to France. It is located near the Élysée Palace.

History

The hotel was built in the 1720s for Armand de Bethune, 2nd Duke of Charost, a senior courtier of Louis XV. It was designed by Antoine Mazin, the king's own architect. The building was sited on the Rue de Faubourg Saint-Honore, which was then a winding road that passed through fields and market gardens to the village of Roule on the outskirts of Paris.

After it had been an aristocratic home, the hotel became the Embassy of Portugal, offices for the French home office (siège de bureaux), an Imperial Palace and the temporary residence of the Austrian ambassador.

In 1803 it was bought by Pauline Borghese, the sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1814 she sold the building to the Duke of Wellington who paid her in instalments of Louis d'or. Borghese passed the gold onto Napoleon who had been exiled to Elba following the Treaty of Fontainebleau. His dramatic return that climaxed the next year at Waterloo was partly financed with the sale of this house to the British.