A Paris Detour: Collecting My Royal Photo Archive

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We step away from château life for a couple of days in Paris to collect my Royal Photographic Archive.
What should feel like a simple pickup turns unexpectedly emotional, like the end of an era.

Claire and I head into the city, stay in the Marais, and make a little adventure of it along the way. Between croissants, long walks, and a few tempting “should we just move here?” moments, we find surprising inspiration for our own chapel renovation in a small Parisian church.

There’s also a very brief hello with @chateaulove as a precursor to a proper visit soon.

Then comes the real reason for the trip: visiting the agency basement where my photographs have lived for decades. A lifetime in boxes, filing cabinets, and envelopes from the film days—images from years spent travelling with the British Royal Family, and a period that now feels quietly historic.

Chapters are included, as always. If you’d like to keep travelling and renovating with us, please consider subscribing and joining the next part of the story.

00:00 Break from the French château: a Paris mission for the Royal photo archive
00:24 “End of an era” — the moment it gets unexpectedly emotional
00:58 Meet Lionel: 20 years photographing the British Royal Family
05:10 Road-trip reality: traffic, charging stops, and “Top Gear… but not”
06:20 We didn’t stay at the Ritz: Marais basecamp + the lottery daydream
07:48 Paris shopping for château ideas (plus a new robot for the collection)
09:10 Dinner in Paris: cheers, risotto, and DIY still follows us
11:05 Croissants & a new mission: “I’m going to embarrass you today”
13:37 The chapel surprise: St Louis inspiration for your château chapel
15:12 Victor Hugo interiors: beautiful, bonkers, and brutally honest reactions
17:43 A trendy bar twist: meeting viewers out in the wild
20:07 Down in the basement: a lifetime in boxes — and the next chapter begins

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