The Queen's officials have rejected an extraordinary request from American diplomats to move the US embassy into Kensington Palace, the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The bid to take over the building was made because the embassy's current location, in Grosvenor Square, in Mayfair, is considered highly vulnerable to terrorist attack despite the extra security measures which were put in place after September 11.
James Lane, the US minister-counsellor for administrative affairs at the London embassy, approached Alan Reid, the Royal Treasurer and Keeper of the Privy Purse, earlier this month to make the request.
Kensington Palace was considered by embassy officials to offer an ideal solution to their security worries. Situated in Kensington Gardens and set well back from Kensington High Street, it can only be approached via a guarded cul-de-sac. The well-protected Israeli and Russian embassies are in an adjacent, gated road.
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http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/08/17/nemb17.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/17/ixnewstop.html
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