Inside London's £1,800-a-year private members' club where Liz Truss schmoozed MPs and a US diplomat: Swanky Mayfair haunt 5 Hertford Street boasts a celeb-filled night club, designer interiors and royal members

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Hidden behind an unmarked maroon door in central London lies one of the city's most exclusive and influential private clubs, with members ranging from royals to politicians and celebrities. 

5 Hertford Street, located on the corner of Shepherd Market in Mayfair, is owned by millionaire aristocrat and Tory donor Robin Birley and often considered one of the most secretive in London. 

The club hit headlines after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss requested departmental funds to host a £3,000 lunch while wining and dining Jo Biden's trade representative at the club. 

The venue, which posted a six-figure losses last year, was the location of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first date and is said to be frequented by the Duke of Cambridge.  

Membership is utterly exclusive, with two recommendations from existing members necessary for approval, and while the club have not publicly revealed their annual fees, it costs £1,800 annually. 

Guests can descend down a steep flight of stairs into the opulent basement club Loulou's - featuring the venue's beloved giraffe’s head mascot - loved by A-listers and royals alike.   

Jewellery designer Alicia Jane is pictured posing outside the famous unmarked maroon door of central London's exclusive 5 Hertford Street

Made in Chelsea's Mark-Francis Vandelli is pictured frequenting the club with socialite and reality star Victoria Baker-Harber

Influencer Vanessa Monaco is pictured lounging in the Mayfair club which is owned by Tory donor Robin Birley and often considered one of the most secretive in London 

The club opened in June 2012, with Loulou's named after Birley’s late cousin, Loulou de la Falaise - an English fashion designer with close links to Yves Saint Laurent. 

The club's official launch party - a birthday celebration for his mother, Lady Annabel - was attended by A-listers including Mick Jagger, Kate Moss, and Daphne Guinness. 

A Vanity Fair writer who attended the launch party described the event online as: 'A long gossipy table of Goldsmiths and Rothschilds with the merest slurp of Guinnesses. The rooms fill with founder members and the carefully invited.'  

The club quickly became a staple of London’s social scene, with members rumoured to include Harry Styles, Margot Robbie, George and Amal Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio. 

The location is also popular with younger members of the Royal Family, with the club said to have been frequented by Prince William and Princess Eugenie of York in the past

An influencer is pictured posing in the mirror of the shell bathroom mirror designed by fashion designer Rifat Ozbek

The Parisian-style interiors were created by fashion designer Rifat Ozbek, known for his love of working with colour, textile and pattern - with the club's trademark look featuring clashing patterns and prints

The location is also popular with younger members of the Royal Family, with the club said to have been frequented by Prince William and Princess Eugenie of York in the past. 

Described by Vanity Fair as 'like sitting in a fairy story or being swallowed by a dragon', the club includes a warm, dimly-lit restaurant area with tones of crimsons and maroon. 

The bar - which serves up the highly recommended Gin Fizz - is made of shells and features an illuminated peacock and flamboyant wallpaper. 

Exclusive London club 5 Hertford Street (above) is where Cabinet Ministers and young royals rub shoulders with plutocrats and Hollywood actors – and it is also now Ground Zero for plotters against Boris Johnson

Restaurants in the private members club feature clashing prints and bright colours as well as marble decor and hoards of floral arrangements and foliage 

The club features cosy seating areas for members featuring stunning artworks and a marble fireplace 

Guests can decent from a steep flight of stairs into the opulent basement club Loulou's - featuring Parisian floral carpet and dim chandelier lighting loved by A-listers and royals alike

The club has restaurants and bars. It serves breakfast and lunch as well as dinner and supper and tea, of course. 

There are rooms for dancing and for sitting. There are corners for cogitating or snoozing or minding your own business. 

The venue also has its own cigar shop and restaurant - serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and tea - where you can bring your dog along for lunch.  

Dress codes are strict, with men banned from entering in shorts, collarless shirts, sportswear of any kind, dirty shoes or distressed trainers, flip flops or sandals. 

Meanwhile women are restricted from wearing ripped jeans, dirty sports shoes or distressed trainers and sportswear of any kind.  

Described by Vanity Fair as 'like sitting in a fairy story or being swallowed by a dragon', the club includes a warm, dimly-lit restaurant area with tones of crimsons and maroon

The club's bar serves up a host of flamboyant and lavish cocktails including the highly recommended Gin Fizz

An unmarked maroon door in central London hides one of cities most exclusive and influential private members clubs

Only members are able to see the list of upcoming events and reservation contact details, and the majority of the club's website can only be accessed with membership details.   

The high-profile Gentleman's club has been frequented by Conservative politicians including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and David Cameron and has reportedly been used by Truss to schmooze potential financial backers for a leadership bid.

Birley is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and Mark Birley - who owns private members clubs Annabels; Harry’s Bar; George; Mark’s Club and Bath & Racquets - all of which have a strict vetting process and require members to be recommended.

‘King of clubs’ Robin Birley (pictured) took the extraordinary step of spending millions of his own money to lure members back to his fashionable Mayfair nightspots last year 

He is the half brother of Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and donated £20,000 towards Boris Johnson's leadership bid. 

Last year, Robin Birley took taken the extraordinary step of spending millions of his own money to lure members back to his fashionable Mayfair nightspots.

He gave every member of 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s a free meal up to the value of £500 — that’s more than the net weekly salary of the average Briton.

At the time, a friend told Richard Eden: ‘Robin thinks the members have been so wonderfully loyal to the club over the past few months that he wants to show just how much he values their support,.'

There are understood to be at least 3,000 members of the two clubs so it could set Birley back more than £1.5 million.

Whitehall mandarins tried to stop Liz Truss wining and dining US diplomat and eight others at Tory donor's Mayfair club to save just £400 on bill 

Whitehall mandarins tried to stop Liz Truss wining and dining a US diplomat and eight others at a Tory donor's Mayfair club to save just £400 on a lunch bill. 

The Foreign Secretary 'overruled officials' and 'explicitly asked' to use 5 Hertford Street in central London, owned by millionaire aristocrat Robin Birley, before spending hundreds of pounds on gin and wine alone.

In June, Ms Truss requested departmental funds to host a £3,000 lunch at the venue with Katherine Tai, Jo Biden's trade representative, while International Trade Secretary. 

Ms Truss is said to have 'refused to consider anywhere else' for the lunch, describing suggestions for a cheaper and less party political option as 'inappropriate', reports The Sunday Times. 

Efforts to save money on the bill come just months after civil servants across at the Foreign Office were accused of working to rule and failing to understand the severity of the Afghanistan evacuation crisis in August.

A whistleblower cited an eight-hour shift culture and the refusal to work weekends as reasons for failures that led to Afghan civilians being 'left behind and murdered by the Taliban'. 

Top civil servant Sarah Healey, permanent secretary at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, was also accused undermining ministers attempts to get officials back into the office last year after hailing the benefits of working from home because she could use her Peloton bike.  

Following rules to the letter regarding the lunch, though, civil servants in the Department for International Trade were said to be so concerned over the venue's cost and links to the Tory party that they referred Ms Truss' suggestion to the permanent secretary - the department's most senior official.  

Its owner, Mr Birley, is the half brother of Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and donated £20,000 towards Boris Johnson's leadership bid. 

The venue has also been used by the Foreign Secretary, 46, to host 'Fizz with Liz' meetings to schmooze Tory MPs and 'Biz for Liz' events with potential financial backers for a leadership bid. 

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss 'explicitly asked' to use 5 Hertford Street in Mayfair, owned by millionaire aristocrat Robin Birley

 

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