Not all credit crunches are created equal. Sunninghill Park, dubbed Southyork, after similarities made between it and the house in the American soap Dallas, was the home given by the Queen to Prince Andrew and Sarah Duchess of York after their marriage in 1986. After their divorce in 1996 they continued to live in it together with their children, but following the death of Queen Elizabeth, (the Queen Mother), in 2002, and after extensive renovation, Andrew moved into Royal Lodge, (as above, rebuilt in this form in C18th).
Whereas many have struggled to sell properties, and Sunninghill Park has been on the market for five years, it was apparently sold to a Kazakhstan tycoon for GBP15m, GBP3m more than its estimated price tag.
The former house to this one built for the Yorks, was offered to Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh after their marriage in 1947, but it burnt down before they occupied it. Subsequently the land was offered to Princess Margaret after her marriage to Snowdon, but he preferred Old House, which was on the estate of his uncle Oliver Messel, and caused much tension in their marriage, which, like the York's, was was subsequently dissolved.
Do I feel that it is cursed? Well, no, it obviously helps to know the right people, as an addional GBP3m comes in handy, whatever your circumstances.
Coincidentally today is the (108th) anniversary of the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth.
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