Caroline Baudry
New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will address Parliament for the first time on Wednesday. He gave his arrival speech on Tuesday outside 10 Downing Street in London, the Prime Minister’s official residence. But what exactly is this emblematic place?
Televisions around the world were tuned into Tuesday’s farewell speech by Liz Truss and the arrival speech of Rishi Sunak, the new British Prime Minister. Two speeches delivered outside the iconic 10 Downing Street in London, the Prime Minister’s official residence for over 200 years. What exactly is this place?
A street where the residences of the British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer are located
“Number ten”, as it is known in the British press, is both the Prime Minister’s official residence and workplace. It is also here that he receives his guests, members of the royal family or leaders from around the world. This small cul-de-sac street in the heart of London owes its name to Georges Downing, an English diplomat who made his fortune in real estate.
In 1735, King George II offered it to the Prime Minister. 11 Downing Street, next door, is reserved for the Minister of Finance. The residence seems like a house like any other. Yet it is behind this black door, with modest ornaments, that the most important British decisions have been taken for 275 years. Both world wars were fought there, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill marched there.
In 2011, a new tenant won the hearts of the British: Larry, the first cat to receive the official title of “Chief Mouser”, chief mouser, thanks to his skills as a rodent hunter.