London has a long tradition of private gentlemen’s clubs, and the aristocratic neighborhood of Mayfair is the place in the city with the highest concentration of this type of establishments whose entrance requires membership or the invitation of a member. King Juan Carlos dined with a group of friends on Monday night at one of those clubs in the British capital, as reported by the Daily Mail newspaper, and was captured by photographers on the way out.
Oswald’s club, located at 25 Albemarle Street, is one of the newest Mayfair has to offer, having been founded by Robin Birley in May 2017. In these few years, Oswald’s has become “one of the most exclusive to the capital for senior members of the government, wealthy donors, members of the royal family or showbiz stars looking to party in private,” as described by The Times.
Its members or visitors are said to include Prince William, Queen Camila, Ivanka Trump, Boris Johnson or Liz Truss. It was also the place chosen by the actress Amber Heard to have dinner with friends the night after the second day of the trial of her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, against News Group Newspapers Ltd in the High Court of London, a year before his most publicized trial in USA.
The club takes its name from the portrait painter Oswald Birley, paternal grandfather of current owner Mark Birley, and is closely connected to Birley’s other club in Mayfair itself, named after its address 5 Hertford Street. The interior of Oswald’s club features Murano chandeliers, country fireplaces and a dome that rises to a cigar terrace. One of its particularities is that members can keep their own wine in the establishment, and it is said that the club was created out of the need to find vintage wines in London at more affordable prices.
This exclusive club does not have social networks and its brief website only leads to member registration and its extensive privacy policy. It is difficult to find images that can be published of the club because it is likely that, as in many other private rooms in London, photographs are banned inside to preserve the privacy of other members.
