 The entrance to Oswald's in May 2022 | |
| Formation | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Robin Birley |
| Type | Private members' club |
| Location |
|
| Owner | Robin Birley |
| Website | www |
Oswald's is a private members club located at 25 Albemarle Street in London's Mayfair district. It was established by Robin Birley in May 2017. [1] [2]
The house was formerly the site of the hairdressers Michael John and the club is named for the portrait artist Sir Oswald Birley, the paternal grandfather of owner Mark Birley. [2] The interior was designed by Tom Bell and Bruce Cavell, featuring "Murano chandeliers, country house-like fireplaces and a cupola soaring to [a] cigar terrace". [2] Oswald's was created out of a need for vintage wines at more affordable prices. [2] The head chef is Gianluca Cossu, previously of 5 Hertford Street. [2]
Writing in The Times , Damien Whitworth described the club as "a private dining club that has become one of the capital's most exclusive havens for senior members of the government, deep-pocketed donors, stars of show business looking to party privately, and members of the royal family". [3] In early 2022 Oswald's was described by Annabel Sampson in Tatler as the "...most exclusive of London's private members' clubs". [4] Oswald's has no social media accounts. [4]
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attended a dinner at the club in November 2021. [5] In January 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson spent an evening at the club. In May 2023 Beyoncé shared that she had been to the club with her husband Jay-Z. Other Conservative Party politicians who are regular visitors include Michael Gove, Priti Patel, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi. [4] The actress Amber Heard went to Oswald's with friends in the evening following the second day of the Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd trial at the High Court. [4] Other members include George Osborne, and Lord Rothermere, and Birley's mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith. [4] The club has a large overlap of members with Birley's other Mayfair club, 5 Hertford Street. [2]
The club held a reception for royal family members and guests on the eve of the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla in May 2023. [6] British royal family members included the Princess Royal; Zara and Mike Tindall; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh; their children Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex; the Duke of York; and Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones. Foreign royal guests included King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and his daughter, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife, Princess Charlene, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece along with her son, Crown Prince Pavlos, and daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal. [7] The club also hosted the star-studded 50th Birthday celebration of Victoria Beckham on April 20, 2024.
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and the youngest niece of King Charles III. Born 8th in line to the British throne, she is now 16th.
Lady Margarita Elizabeth Rose Alleyne Armstrong-Jones is a relative of the British royal family. She is the granddaughter of Princess Margaret and the grandniece of Queen Elizabeth II. As of 2023, she is 27th in the line of succession to the British throne. She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011 and accompanies members of the royal family to public events. Lady Margarita is a jewellery designer and the creator of the bespoke jewellery label Matita. In 2023, she was the cover girl for the May issue of Tatler.
Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne,, styled as Lord Glamis from 1865 to 1904, was a British peer and landowner who was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.
Lady Annabel Goldsmith is an English socialite and the eponym for a London nightclub of the late 20th century, Annabel's. She was first married for two decades to entrepreneur Mark Birley, the creator of Annabel's. Annabel's was her husband's inaugural members-only Mayfair club.
Virginia Fortune Ogilvy, Dowager Countess of Airlie, DCVO is a former Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II.
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
To date, there have been forty-six women and three men who have been married to the British prime minister in office. There have also been four bachelor and nine widower prime ministers; the last bachelor was Edward Heath (1970–1974) and the last widower was Ramsay MacDonald. The Duke of Grafton (1768–1770) and Boris Johnson (2019–2022) are the only prime ministers to have divorced and remarried while in office.
Robin Marcus Birley is an English businessman, entrepreneur and political donor. He is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and the nightclub owner Mark Birley. He had a brother, Rupert, who disappeared and is presumed deceased, and a sister, India Jane Birley. His half-brother is the former MP, now peer, Zac Goldsmith.
Annabel's is a private members club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London.
Marcus Oswald Hornby Lecky Birley, known as Mark Birley, was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
India Jane Birley is a British artist and businesswoman. Her father, Mark Birley, opened the private member's club Annabel's, named after her mother, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, in the early 1960s and Birley ran the club with her brother, Robin Birley, during her father's ill health in the 2000s. She later became estranged from her brother, and her father's estate was left to her to be placed in trust for her son.
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex is the younger child and son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest nephew of King Charles III. At the time of his birth, he was 8th in line to the British throne. He is now 15th in line.
Sir Benjamin William Elliot is a British businessman and fund-raiser for the Conservative Party who served as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party from July 2019 alongside James Cleverly (2019–2020), Amanda Milling (2020–2021), Oliver Dowden (2021–2022), and Andrew Stephenson (2022) before resigning on 5 September 2022. In 2018, Elliot was appointed by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for the Environment, as the UK government's first Food Surplus and Waste Champion. Elliot is the co-founder of the Quintessentially Group, a global luxury concierge service, and the co-founder of Hawthorn Advisors, a communications consultancy based in London. He is a nephew of Queen Camilla.
Lady Charlotte Anne Santo Domingo is an English socialite and photography producer. She is married to Colombian-American businessman Alejandro Santo Domingo.
Mark's Club is a private members' club and restaurant in Mayfair, London, UK. Established in 1972, it has hosted many fashion events and been patronised by members of the British establishment.
5 Hertford Street (5HS) is a private members' club in Mayfair, London, which was described in 2017 as London's most secretive club. It has annual membership costs of £1,800 and is owned by the English businessman Robin Birley. Its interior design is by the Turkish-born fashion designer Rifat Ozbek.
The Bath & Racquets Club is a private members gym and squash club at 49 Brook's Mews in London's Mayfair district. The club has 300 members and is the most expensive private gym club in London. It was established by Mark Birley in 1989. Birley sold the club with his four other Mayfair clubs, Annabel's, Harry's Bar, Mark's Club, and George, to Richard Caring in 2007.
George is a private members club at 87-88 Mount Street in London's Mayfair district. It was established by Mark Birley in 2001. Birley sold the club with his four other Mayfair clubs, Annabel's, Mark's Club, Harry's Bar, and the Bath & Racquets Club, to Richard Caring in 2007. The club is dog friendly.
Harry's Bar is a private members dining club at 26 South Audley Street in London's Mayfair district.
Girl with a Red Beret and Pompom is a 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso. It hangs in the main reception area of the private member's club Annabel's in Berkeley Square in London's Mayfair district.