King buys £3m home next to Queen's country retreat amid privacy fears
King Charles has bought a £3 million home next to his wife's country retreat amid fears it would be sold and turned into a wedding venue.
The Queen bought Ray Mill House in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, in 1995 and still uses the countryside mansion to spend quality time with her family.
But when there were concerns regarding the neighbouring property, the Old Mill, was about to be sold the King stepped in, the Mail on Sunday reported.
Over recent years, the Old Mill had undergone development by Phil Clayton, the previous owner,
There was local opposition when Mr Clayton converted a former garage on the grounds into a holiday apartment known as Pear Tree Loft.
He was granted planning permission to use the outbuilding as a holiday let in February 2022 by Wiltshire council and since then, the one-bed apartment has been listed on Airbnb and Booking.com for £157 a night.
A friend of the Queen told the Mail on Sunday that a potential buyer was seeking to 'maximise commercial use of the property as a short-term holiday rental and wedding venue'.
The Old Mill was last sold in 2017 for £675,000.
An undated listing brochure for an estate agent, which ceased trading in 2020, described the Old Mill as 'set in the most idyllic position with breathtaking views of the River Avon and surrounding countryside. This enviable position offers great potential with low head water turbines providing an income, set within approximately two acres'.
The house, which had been listed for £1.25 million, was then said to be 'in need of some updating'.
It was said to have four bedrooms, two en-suite bathrooms, a large 'unconverted' room, two other bathrooms, three reception rooms, a kitchen and a cloakroom.
The King is understood to have bought the property, which shares a private lane with Ray Mill House, using private funds.
A royal source told the Mail on Sunday: 'The new arrangement is a pragmatic solution, being both a sound financial investment and a way of maintaining Her Majesty's privacy, protection and continued enjoyment of her much-loved home, without any public funds being used.
'I know how grateful and relieved she is, not least given all the additional stresses and anxieties of the past year,' the source added, in an apparent reference to her husband's cancer diagnosis.
The Queen bought Ray Mill House for £850,000 after her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles.
In 2009, the Queen, then the Duchess of Cornwall, was granted permission to do some work of her own when she wanted to extend her country mansion to create space for her grandchildren to stay.
The extension included a new attic staircase at the 27-acre property.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
17 hours ago
- Daily Record
Popular budget airline sees stocks tumble after admitting one in five planes grounded
Wizz Air is one of the most popular budget airlines for Brits jetting off on holiday, but the Hungarian firm has seen a 62 per cent drop in profits while 20 per cent of its planes are grounded A popular budget airline, often chosen by British holidaymakers looking for cheap flights, has seen its shares slump after disclosing that 20 per cent of its fleet is grounded due to engine issues. Wizz Air operated over 63 million flights to and from the UK last year, offering connections to favourite getaway locations such as Spain, Greece, and Italy. Nonetheless, the airliner's profits took a nosedive by 62 per cent to £141 million, largely due to ongoing strife in two key markets – Israel and Ukraine. Adding to their woes, about 40 of their jets are currently idle because of global complications with some Airbus engines, putting a significant chunk of Wizz's profit generators out of action. As a repercussion, share prices plunged to 1207p, a steep fall from their high of 5500p in 2021. Despite these challenges, Wizz Air has experienced an uptick in British customers, with over 12 million Brits opting for the budget carrier for trips abroad. Battling substantial adversities, however, the airline had to signal two profit warnings within a year. The Chief Executive, Jozsef Varadi, conveyed to the Mail: "Wizz Air is a more resilient business today. Despite the unproductivity of a grounded fleet, we successfully delivered a second year of profitability.", reports the Express. He also noted: "We have the benefit of more than a year of experience operating under unique circumstances - conditions airlines would never experience when demand exceeds supply." The budget operator's plummeting share value and profits have raised red flags for airports throughout the UK. With operations from key international hubs such as Luton as well as regional airports including Liverpool, Birmingham, Doncaster, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, Wizz Air's financial performance is significant. Recovery does not seem on the horizon for Wizz Air, with engine checks and services on its Airbus fleet experiencing extensive delays, now reaching 300 days and potentially stretching into 2027. The troubles started back in 2023 after the manufacturer issued a recall of certain engine models due to fears of powdered metal tainting the manufacturing process. However, the airline's CEO has declared that they are at a "transformation point" concerning these issues. Despite having 44 aircraft out of a fleet of 200 impacted, the company anticipates reducing this figure to 37 by September, thereby missing the peak summer period. As one of the most severely impacted airlines in Europe, Wizz Air has managed to negotiate a compensation arrangement with Pratt & Whitney, the company responsible for manufacturing the engines for Airbus. CEO Varadi said this agreement helps alleviate "some, but not all, of the operational and financial impacts on the business." AJ Bell's Investment Director Russ Mould remarked: 'The aviation firm labelled its previous year as "resilience and transformation", yet market reactions imply "awful" would be more apt. "Formerly seen as the ambitious growth contender, even considering acquiring Easyjet back in 2021, Wizz Air now appears to be falling behind in the race. 'With shares at a fraction of their peak, failure to resolve its problems could see Wizz turn from predator to prey. '.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
King asked to intervene in plans to build Britain's biggest solar farm
The King has been asked to intervene to halt plans to build Britain's biggest solar farm. A large portion of the project will be built on the 12,000-acre Blenheim Estate, where Winston Churchill was born. The £800 million Botley West project is set to cover almost 3,500 acres of land across Botley, Woodstock and Kidlington in Oxfordshire. The Planning Inspectorate is examining the scheme and will make a recommendation to Ed Miliband, the Energy and Net Zero Secretary, within six months. Locals have been campaigning against the plans but now one of them, Tim Summer, has written a letter claiming an act from the early 18th century means the monarch should step in. Mr Summer's arguments are based around the 1705 Queen Anne Act of Parliament, which gave the Blenheim Estate to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. Mr Sumner claims the Blenheim Estate does not officially own the land and that the 1705 Act states it should not be used for any purposes other than the duke's. As such, Mr Sumner maintains that 'since the Crown leases land to the duke, the Crown must be consulted'. He added: 'Leasing and giving ownership of Blenheim land to a third party who will directly enjoy financial benefits is against the 1705 Queen Anne Act.' Mr Sumner added: 'I therefore humbly ask that the Crown steps in to enforce its ownership of the Blenheim Estate as Queen Anne intended and refuses the Blenheim Estate land to be handed over to any third party.' The King, a lifelong environmental campaigner, has called for a rapid increase in renewable energy and is striving to make the Royal Household net zero by 2030. He has installed solar panels at Windsor Castle and a solar farm on a former horse grazing paddock at Sandringham. His Majesty is yet to respond to the Botley West row but the arguments concerning the Crown were presented at a recent hearing in Oxford. The Planning Inspectorate has asked for further clarification from Blenheim. A spokesman for the estate said: 'We are aware of the comments made during the public examination which are not correct in relation to this project.' Mark Owen-Lloyd, director of Photovolt, the company behind the project, said: 'Should the project be granted consent, Photovolt will become one of many tenants of the Blenheim Estate, who have leased their land for centuries. 'The restrictions apply only to the World Heritage Site that is Blenheim Palace, which will of course have no solar panels installed on it.' The Duke of Marlborough, a Reform UK backer, is said to be opposed to the project. The 12th Duke, known as Jamie Blandford, is a member of Reform, which believes that 'productive land must be farmed, not be used for solar farms or rewilding'. However, the Duke's chequered past involving drug addiction and multiple spells in prison saw him lose control of the family seat in 1994. His legal control of the Blenheim Estate is significantly limited because he is not a trustee of the Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation, which operates the World Heritage site. The estate itself supports the potentially lucrative project, from which it is predicted to earn about £1,000 an acre for each of the 40 years that Photovolt leases the land. Mr Sumner, who went to Parliament to see some of these acts first-hand, said he was motivated to do the research because of his interest in his local area's past and the solar farm. Professor Alex Rogers, chairman of Stop Botley West, said this letter has questioned 'the idea that the developer can do whatever they want with the land'. Earlier in 2025, Mr Miliband was accused of breaking the ministerial code after his department approved an application for a solar farm owned by the millionaire Labour donor Dale Vince. The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero signed off on Heckington Fen Solar Park, a 524-hectare solar farm in Lincolnshire which is owned by Ecotricity, Mr Vince's green energy company. Ecotricity has donated £5.4 million to Labour since 2021, making Mr Vince one of the party's most prominent business backers. The energy department said it was Lord Hunt, a minister, and not Mr Miliband who was responsible for signing off on the solar farm. A spokesman added: 'No rules have been broken. Political donations have no influence over how planning applications are considered.' Mr Vince also rejected suggestions the approval was politically motivated and said the site would create hundreds of jobs.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Anne hosts charities at forum to mark upcoming 75th birthday
The Princess Royal has brought her charities together at a special Buckingham Palace forum after deciding it was the only way she wished to mark her forthcoming 75th birthday. Anne is not expected to carry out any major public celebrations in recognition of her milestone in August and requested to only use the occasion to focus on the work of her patronages. The princess joked about thanking her brother, the King, for use of the Palace ballroom and praised the work of the organisations. Anne said: 'I'm not here because this was my choice. You very kindly asked me to become patron of your organisations, so it's an honour for me to have all of you here. 'I would just like to make the point that we are very fortunate that His Majesty has allowed us to use Buckingham Palace for this event tonight – and I need say that – it does help.' She said in her speech to the charities: 'The responsibility and respect that you give to your own organisations and the people who work for you and your beneficiaries is perhaps the key to what makes you so important. ' Respect and responsibility. Thank you very much for doing what you do.' A Palace source said: 'This personifies what Her Royal Highness cares about. 'She didn't want to do anything for her birthday but bring her charities together to hear more about their work and how she can help them.' The princess convened the forum and a reception in the Palace on Thursday for some 200 people, drawn from more than 100 of the 300-plus charities and organisations she currently supports. The forum was arranged to discuss key topics such as challenges facing the sector, public trust in charities and the opportunities and risks presented by new technologies. Among the charities were nine organisations of which Anne has become patron of in the last year – at an age when many people have already retired – including Friends of the Elderly and Naval Children's Charity. Colonel John Boyd, private secretary to the Princess, addressing guests at the opening of the event, said: 'There has been a significant amount of interest in Her Royal Highness's 75th birthday celebrations. 'As you are aware, the princess has given decades of time and support to more than 400 charities and patronages. 'It probably won't come as a surprise given HRH's commitment to you all, that the way the princess wanted to celebrate this milestone was to replicate what she's done on previous significant birthdays and hold this charities forum to once again understand how she can help you at a time when the third sector is facing unprecedented challenges and transformations.' Professor Lynne Berry, chairwoman of the Human Tissue Authority and pro chancellor of the University of Westminster, who chaired the discussion, told guests: 'Your Royal Highness, I know you have had many great ideas over the years but this one, this charity forum, is one of the best.' Anne heard about the challenges facing organisations in terms of fundraising and also how charities have been experimenting with AI, with research showing 76% of charities used AI in 2025, up from 61% last year. The princess is a key member of the King's slimmed-down working monarchy and played an important role as she stepped up in support of Charles amid his cancer diagnosis in 2024. Anne is also known for her no-nonsense approach and her commitment to royal duty. She carried out her first public engagement in 1969 aged 18 when she opened an educational and training centre in Shropshire, and a year later began her longest association with a charity, becoming president of Save the Children and later patron.
