We can't think of many types of property more irresistible than a mews house. The urban version of a country cottage, these once-humble structures are now highly sought after in London and other major cities. The Duchess of York, we learn, can now call herself the proud owner of a mews house in Mayfair, one of London's most expensive areas.
The Duchess is said to have bought the house from the Grosvenor Estate, the property portfolio of the Duke of Westminster, one of Britain's wealthiest men (and most eligible bachelors). The Estate owns 300 acres in Mayfair and Belgravia, which are the source of a large part of the Duke's wealth. While mews houses may generally be rather bijou residences (they started off life as coach houses for larger dwellings), this one is big enough to have been formerly divided into flats, and came at the cool price of £5 million.
It's not clear whether the Duchess intends to move in to the house; she currently resides at Royal Lodge in Windsor with her ex-husband Prince Andrew, each occupying a separate wing of the house. The mews house is said to be a long term investment for the Duchess' daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and may be rented out for the present (where do we sign up?!). Anyone lucky enough to live there will be a hop and a skip away from hotels like Claridge's and The Ritz, members' clubs like Annabel's and Mark's Club, and the luxurious shops that line Bond Street.
Another nest-egg in the Duke and Duchess' portfolio, a £17 million ski chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, had to be sold this year to help pay for the Duke's legal costs in the civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims.
More great royal stories from House & Garden
- Everything we know about the royal family's taste in interiors
- A look at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's country house, Anmer Hall
- Examining Princess Diana's interiors style
- All of Princess Diana's homes
- Inside Highgrove House, Prince Charles' Cotswolds home (and its very unusual feature)
- All the houses that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge has lived in
- Adelaide Cottage: All we know about Prince William and Kate Middleton's new Windsor Castle home
- Inside Althorp, Princess Diana's childhood home
