Rishi Sunak is planning to move back into Downing Street barely six months after relocating to his £6.6 million Kensington townhouse amidst rumors that he will divide his time between the government apartment and his five-bedroom west London family home.
As chancellor, the former Goldman Sachs banker resided in the No. 10 apartment, as opposed to the apartment above No. 11 that is typically reserved for the most senior Treasury minister.
In April, Mr. Sunak relocated to the townhouse and split his time between the two residences, while his wife Akshata Murty, his daughters Krishna and Anoushka, and family Labrador, Nova moved out to be closer to the children’s £22,000-per-year premium school.
There is considerable speculation that Britain’s incoming prime minister may opt to return to this living arrangement rather than occupying Downing Street permanently.
It is expected that the family will retain their Kensington residence in order to maintain some flexibility in their living arrangements. If he want to escape Downing Street, he will be able to spend weekends with his family at the Prime Minister’s official country retreat, Chequers, as well as at their London residence and their constituency house in North Yorkshire.
However, Scotland Yard is likely to exert pressure on him to relocate his family to Downing Street for security concerns.
Unknown is whether he will move back into the No. 10 flat or into the house above No. 11 that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie renovated for an estimated £200,000 – notoriously incorporating gold wallpaper costing £2,250.
Mr. Sunak, whose family is reported to be worth £730 million, must also decide whether to draw his full prime ministerial salary of £164,080 or to take a voluntary pay cut as a symbolic gesture in light of the present cost of living problem.
Downing Street, which has been the residence of the British Prime Minister since 1735 and the headquarters from which the nation’s leaders have weathered world wars, financial crises, and pandemics, was once linked to a more magnificent edifice behind it in order to accommodate its new function.
Regarding the other inhabitants on the street, the Prime Minister’s most notable neighbor is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who resides at No. 11.
In recent years, however, a number of Prime Ministers have opted to reside in the larger apartments located above No. 11.
In March 2021, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak held the budget box within his official residence at 11 Downing Street.
Mr. Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are believed to be worth £730,000,000.
Rishi Sunak delivering a speech outside 10 Downing Street as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Plans for Number 10 and 11 Downing Street indicate that the complex’s second floor contains a considerable number of bedrooms.
In 2005, the lower area of 11 Downing Street is visible. The four-bedroom home is located on the second floor.
The photograph of 11 Downing Street was taken in 2005, eight years after Tony Blair became prime minister and chose the four-bedroom flat.
Photographed in 2005, Number 11 Downing Street remained a creation of the 1960s until Tony and Cherie Blair moved in in 1997.
Krishna and Anoushka (shown as newborns) have attended school in South Kensington, and their parents want to limit disruptions as much as possible.
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata (pictured at a campaign event in Grantham in July 2022) have two children, Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, nine. According to reports, he may choose to keep them in their Kensington townhouse as he moves into 10 Downing Street in order to minimize disruption to their lives.
This is a remarkable web of residences and enterprises connected to Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata.
His successors Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson chose to follow his lead.
It has also been reported that the chief whip of the ruling party resides at 9 Downing Street (although the official residence of this position is Number 12).
It is somewhat unexpected that, after sheltering Prime Ministers for nearly 300 years, the mansion has undergone multiple modifications and an intensive repair.
At the conclusion of World War II, it was determined that the structure had major structural issues, including sagging walls and twisted door frames.
Eventually, during Harold MacMillan’s administration, 10 Downing Street was repaired in a project that cost approximately £1 million and took three years. Since then, structural issues appear to have been largely contained, however several of the building’s most renowned reception rooms have been refurbished by various leaders.
During her eleven years in power, Margaret Thatcher oversaw the remodeling of the White Drawing Room and the Terracotta Room, both of which are used to entertain distinguished guests.
The latter, located on the first floor of Number 10, was originally known as the Blue Room when Thatcher assumed office in 1979, but she decided she preferred the reception area’s orange hues.
In February 2014, David Cameron speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his apartment at 11 Downing Street.
David Cameron in his remodeled kitchen at Number 11 Downing Street in March 2015, shortly after he moved there.
In April 2009, Chancellor Alistair Darling takes breakfast with his wife Margaret (center) and his private secretary Ann Coffey (left) in a different portion of 11 Downing Street. In 2007, Mr. Brown appointed Mr. Darling as chancellor to succeed himself.
Gordon Brown is shown in the kitchen of his Downing Street apartment in October 2008, a year after moving in.
In 2009, Gordon Brown resided in the four-bedroom apartment located on the fourth floor of No. 11 Downing Street.
2009 photograph of the stairway leading from the ground floor of 11 Downing Street to the living quarters.
In 2009, when Gordon Brown occupied the four-bedroom flat at 11 Downing Street, the boardroom was photographed.
At the end of the 1980s, when Mrs. Thatcher was nearing the conclusion of her term in government, she appointed interior designer Quinlan Terry to carry out the makeover. Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister of the United Kingdom, first used the space as a dining room.
Having resided at 10 Downing Street for so long, Mrs. Thatcher left her stamp on the mansion, which now includes a room bearing her name.
During her time in government, the Thatcher Room served as her personal study, and a portrait of her stands on the wall inside.
Not only does the interior of Number 10 have a rich history, but its rose garden has also hosted numerous significant news conferences over the years.
Sir Tony hosted a farewell reception in the rose garden upon leaving office in 2007 to pass over the reigns to Mr. Brown.
In more recent times, the British media gathered in the rose garden during the pandemic to attend a press conference hosted by Mr. Johnson’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings, after it was revealed that he had violated lockdown rules to drive from London to Durham in 2020 after testing positive for Covid.