Why Prince Charles Has Reportedly Abandoned This Mansion Plan
Prince Charles has reportedly abandoned plans to build a country mansion on his Herefordshire estate.
As the Daily Mail reported, the Prince of Wales acquired the 900-acre Harewood End estate back in 2000 and the senior royal soon began working on an ambitious £9 million ($12 million) renovation that resulted in the restoration of several buildings.
Charles had also hoped to recreate a grand home on the estate that had been demolished by the SAS (Special Air Service) back in the 1950s. According to Express, plans for the Craig Hamilton-designed mansion were approved in 2004. However, Charles' private estate has now confirmed that work on the Harewood End estate is now complete, adding that plans to reconstruct the demolished country home will not go ahead despite the building previously being intended as the focal point of the estate's renovation.
Elsewhere, David Curtis, who was put in charge of the project on behalf of Prince Charles, has also confirmed that the mansion will not be rebuilt after all.
Prince Charles' mansion was planned for Prince William and Kate Middleton
Addressing the senior royal's abandoned mansion plans, a spokesperson for The Duchy of Cornwall estate said, "Although planning consent for a statement house was granted some time ago, the Duchy never took it forward... The regeneration project at Harewood Park is now complete and the estate comprises a number of let residential and office units in converted barns, together with farmland" (via the Daily Mail).
As Express reported, plans for the country home included six bedrooms, an entrance hall, a dining room, a drawing room, a sitting room, a kitchen, a library, and an orangery.
In the early stages of Charles' now ditched plans, it was widely reported that the Prince of Wales was creating the Herefordshire home for his eldest son Prince William and his future wife at the time, Kate Middleton. However, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ended up moving into Amner Hall on the Sandringham estate in 2015, which they had been gifted by Queen Elizabeth following their 2011 wedding.