Sunninghill Park, Berkshire, UK
The Queen pulled out all the stops in 1986 when she gifted the Duke and Duchess of York a 665-acre parcel of land on the Sunninghill Park Estate in Berkshire following their wedding that same year.
A swish 12-bedroom mansion was commissioned, complete with grand reception rooms, stables and a swimming pool, with construction work began on the flashy royal residence in 1987.
Completed in 1990, the property was dubbed ‘Southyork’ and the ‘Dallas Palace’ due to its uncanny resemblance to the ranch house in 1980s soap.
Other commentators likened it to an out-of-town Tesco supermarket, while the ever-diplomatic Duke of Edinburgh reportedly described Sunninghill Park as looking like “a tart’s bedroom”.
Andrew and Fergie’s marriage broke down not long after they moved in and the couple divorced in 1996. Yet the duo continued to live under the same roof with their two daughters.
Following the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, the Duke decamped to the Royal Lodge in Windsor, her former residence, and Sunninghill Park was put on the market. The Duchess and their daughters followed in 2006, leaving the property vacant.
