Princess Anne’s husband is a trustee at the St James’s Conservation Trust, which is currently challenging King Charles's plan for several royal residencies.
The King wants to replace historic gas lamps with LED replicas at royal residences as part of his drive toward net zero.
Planning applications lodged by the Royal Household seek to substitute gas lighting with electric alternatives at Buckingham, St James’s and Kensington Palaces. Gas lanterns have illuminated Buckingham Palace since 1901.
Heritage campaigners argue that removing the lamps would erase a key part of London’s history. Pall Mall was the first street in the world to have gas lamps in 1807.
Princess Anne’s husband part of group challenging King Charles plan
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The St James’s Conservation Trust has formally objected to proposed changes near St James’s Palace on Marlborough Road, saying the plans do not give “sufficient reasons” for the work.
The trust, which includes Princess Anne's husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, said replacing traditional gas lamps with LEDs, or “fakes” of original gas mantles, “do not meet the historic authenticity expected by visitors and heritage professionals”.
It also described the lamps as a “recognition of the style and character of Regency, Victorian and Edwardian era street lighting” and “more than just street furnishing”.
The group continued to tell The Telegraph: “These few remaining examples of the gas source lighting should be repaired and updated” to keep their “aesthetic character”.
Timothy Laurence pictured on June 25, 2025 at a soiree | GETTYFour applications are under consideration: one for St James’s Palace, still pending; others for Kensington Palace; and for the Quadrangle, Ambassadors’ Court and the forecourt at Buckingham Palace, where the Changing of the Guard is held.
The King has long promoted environmental measures. He has converted two state Bentleys to run on biofuel, installed electric vehicle charging points and solar panels at Clarence House, and switched heating at Birkhall to biomass boilers using wood chips from the estate’s forests.
A head of sustainability was appointed in 2023 to advance these net-zero goals.
Sir Michael Stevens, former Keeper of the Privy Purse, called the steps “small steps, but part of a much wider plan to make a significant impact on our carbon emissions in the years ahead”.
A workman making adjustments to an ornamental gas lamp outside Buckingham Palace in 2011 ahead of Prince William and Kate's wedding
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King Charles has long championed sustaining the environment | PAThe London Gasketeers, supported by Griff Rhys Jones and Simon Callow, argue that “the greenest thing to do would be to leave the old gas lamps alone”, citing compatibility with biogas and hydrogen and the need to preserve the work of the remaining lamplighters.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the outlet: “The Royal Household is committed to reaching net zero for direct emissions by 2040.
“With this in mind, plans have been submitted to replace gas lamps with an environmental electric alternative.
“Significant research and testing has been undertaken to retain as much of the historic design and effect of the gas lanterns as possible.”