Google builds "Royal Street View" inside Prince Charles' homes

They are some of the most exclusive addresses Britain has to offer: the London and Ayreshire residences of the Prince of Wales, and the Highgrove garden he considers his pride and joy.

As of this week, they are to be opened up for the world to see, as the Prince agrees to let a bespoke royal version of Google’s “street view” into his homes for a “tour without a ticket”.

The Prince’s childhood photograph album, favourite art work and own watercolours will be available for the public to peruse at the click of a mouse, with a simulated stroll along the corridors of Clarence House.

The contents of Dumfries House, which holds some of the most important Chippendale furniture in the world, has been carefully photographed, while 40 pieces of art can be examine in minute detail right down to each stitch or brushstroke.

The project, conceived when the Prince and Duchess of Cornwall visited YouTube on a public engagement in May, has taken around six months to complete, with photographers and specialists spending three months with the Prince’s priceless collections.

Launched on Wednesday to coincide with his 70th birthday, it is intended to use new technology to share the work of the Prince’s art and conservation charities far and wide.

Intriguingly, it includes a range of little-known photographs, some taken by the Queen, showing the Prince Charles at home with his family.

Once sees the young Charles cuddled against his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother, whose collection at Clarence House is still largely in situ.

Others show him larking about with his younger sister Princess Anne and mother the Queen, picnicking with both his parents and admiring a cockatoo on the arm of Sir David Attenborough.

A humorous series from middle life sees a young Prince Harry catch his jumper with a fish hook while on holiday in Scotland.

The Prince’s own paintings, of the Queen Mother's former Scottish home the Castle of Mey, and the crofts on the island of Stroma, will also be available, along with pictures and videos showcasing the work of his charities including Turquoise Mountain - which restores historic buildings in Afghanistan - and The Royal Drawing School.

In particular, the cameras of Google’s Street View have been invited inside the halls of Clarence House and the gardens of Highgrove to capture it in in 360 degrees, focusing on hundreds of historical artworks belonging to The Royal Collection.

The route follows that taken by paying tourists at the houses themselves, but allowed digital visitors around the world to zoom in on artefacts and architecture not visible to the naked eye.

Speaking about the Prince's London home of Clarence House, Suhair Khan, head of Google UK's arts and culture department, said: "Now using 360-degree imagery anyone can stroll down the halls, explore the art collection, go from one room to another and really come up close with a lot of the artworks."

Google Arts and Culture already collaborates with museums and other institutions to use technology to bring heritage and artwork to an online audience.

A spokesman for the Prince said the heir to the throne had been keeping a "close eye" on the project.

“I have to say the Prince was fascinated by the opportunity that arts and culture provides to connect people to museums, other cultural institutions and provide access which they wouldn't necessarily otherwise have, and so he was very taken with its potential,” he said.

"So when we received the invitation to develop the site for the Prince he was honoured and I think fascinated by what could be done for the charities more than anything else.”