A seven-bedroom mansion set in ancient hunting land once owned by the Crown is on the market for £16.5 million ($20.6 million) – after being rented out for more than twice the UK’s average salary per month.
Queen Anne House on the Crown Estate in Surrey was until recently the most expensive rental outside central London, with an asking price of £90,000 a month, according to agent Gavin Fleming, associate director at CHK Mountford.
The property features 16,500 square feet of living space, with his-and-hers studies and bathrooms, two kitchens, a swimming pool, cinema and a formal dining hall, as well as a self-contained two-bedroom apartment for staff.
“The Crown Estate is probably one of the most exclusive locations in the whole of England, which is home to many A-listers and football players, like Jamie Redknapp," Mr Fleming told The National.
"A lot of the Chelsea football team also live on the Crown Estate. Andy Murray recently moved from there. Houses of this size rarely come up for sale."
The property was recently rented for £100,000 a month by a family from overseas who used it as a weekend retreat from their base in London.
Others have since expressed an interest in renting the sprawling property, including British expats in the UAE and even Hollywood actors filming at the nearby Pinewood Studios.
However, the owner would now prefer to sell the home, which was built in 2013 to his specifications.
"He had two younger children at the time, who are now at university. He built two suites for them on the top floor," said Mr Fleming.
"The principal bedroom was designed to be like an apartment within the house. So if the owner was at home on her own, she could reside in the principal bedroom area, which is like a huge big flat, and just shut the door and be away from the big overwhelming house, so she felt secure.
"It has a kitchenette, a reception area, his-and-hers bathrooms and a private terrace with a hot tub."
It sits in grounds of more than 0.6 hectares and has garage space for five cars.
The front door opens on to a formal dining hall with entertaining area and twin sweeping staircases leading to the seven bedroom suites on the first and second floors.
On the ground floor is a walnut wood-finished large kitchen and dining area, with state-of-the-art appliances and a view of the double-height swimming pool complex. Off to the side of the kitchen, there is a sitting room. A gym sits to the other side.
Upstairs, the principal bedroom suite extends to more than 1,500 square feet and has two separate bathrooms and two dressing rooms, as well as a sitting room and two large terraces, one of which has the hot tub and overlooks the grounds.
The top floor features the two suites designed for the owner’s children.
In addition, the house features an au pair suite with a kitchen, laundry area and a two-bedroom staff flat with a chef's kitchen, as well as a private cinema and spacious function room with a dance floor on the lower level.
The estate has its own private security.
"If your alarm goes off for any reason whatsoever, even if a spider went across the sensor at 3am, the local security company would attend your property within five minutes and insist they go around the house with their dogs to check everything is OK," said Mr Fleming.
The grounds were designed and landscaped by renowned OneAbode, a previous Hampton Court Flower Show gold medal winner, and features trees, shrubs and flowers imported from all over the world. A tennis court and chillout area are also included.
As well as the garage space, there is hard standing for more than 20 vehicles, all behind tall, secure gates.
The property is in Oxshott, a village with independent shops, pubs and restaurants and a station with frequent trains to London Waterloo taking only 38 minutes.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Sweet%20Tooth
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJim%20Mickle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristian%20Convery%2C%20Nonso%20Anozie%2C%20Adeel%20Akhtar%2C%20Stefania%20LaVie%20Owen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
6am: Marathon Elites
7am: Marathon Masses
9am: 10Km Road Race
11am: 4Km Fun Run
If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Kathmandu.%20Fares%20with%20Air%20Arabia%20and%20flydubai%20start%20at%20Dh1%2C265.%3Cbr%3EIn%20Kathmandu%2C%20rooms%20at%20the%20Oasis%20Kathmandu%20Hotel%20start%20at%20Dh195%20and%20Dh120%20at%20Hotel%20Ganesh%20Himal.%3Cbr%3EThird%20Rock%20Adventures%20offers%20professionally%20run%20group%20and%20individual%20treks%20and%20tours%20using%20highly%20experienced%20guides%20throughout%20Nepal%2C%20Bhutan%20and%20other%20parts%20of%20the%20Himalayas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
