King Charles has reportedly purchased a £3 million home in Wiltshire amid fears that it will become a wedding venue. The country retreat is situated next to Queen Camilla’s Ray Mill House
King Charles has reportedly splashed out on a £3 million property in Wiltshire, next to the retreat of Queen Camilla, amid concerns over the potential for it to become a venue for weddings.
The residence is located close to Ray Mill House where the Queen, aged 77, has created her countryside haven in the village of Lacock since 1995, cherishing the time spent there with her nearest and dearest.
A confidante of Camilla’s shared with the Mail on Sunday worries that the former prospective buyer had plans to “maximise commercial use of the property as a short-term holiday rental and wedding venue”. The adjacent building to the Queen’s getaway spot, The Old Mill, owned by Phil Clayton, was granted planning permission to be rented out as a holiday dwelling in February last year.
Following the approval, the one-bedroom flat appeared on Airbnb and Booking.com, for just £157 per night to become a neighbour to the royals. It’s understood that King Charles has now acquired the four-bedroom residence set in approximately two acres of land.
A Royal insider shared: “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.”
They also added: “I know how grateful and relieved she is, not least given all the additional stresses and anxieties of the past year.”
It is believed that Queen Camilla snagged Ray Mill House post-divorce from her first spouse, Andrew Parker Bowles, for a sum of £850,000, reports the Express.
Back in 2009, when she was still known as the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla was given the green light to expand her property. The aim was to create additional space for her five grandchildren – Lola, Eliza, Freddy, Louis, and Gus – to stay with her.
