The former home of William IV is now available to rent for £25,000 a week via Wetherell estate agents. For £1.3 million a year, you could live in the Grade-II listed Mayfair mansion, which comes complete with a blue plaque.
Built in 1753, the property was remodelled in the 1820s for the king, who lived there when he was Prince William, the Duke of Clarence. He went on to reign for seven years, inheriting the throne aged 64 and ruling until his death. The monarch from 1830-1837, William was the last of the Hanovers and the third son of George III, ‘the mad king’. Like father, like son, William gained his own moniker, ‘the sailor king’, after the time he spent in the Royal Navy.
In his lifetime, William courted scandal by living with, but not marrying, the actress Dorothea Jordan, with whom he had 10 children. He went on to marry Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen — perhaps to reform his image. In 1827, he made history when he was appointed Britain's Lord High Admiral, the first since 1709.
22, Charles Street became his home 70 years after it was built and was used to host Queen Victoria, his niece, who went on to succeed him, when she was just seven years old. The king lived there from 1825-27 before moving on to Clarence House (Charles III’s favoured London home) which was built for him by John Nash.
The six-bedroom property, which is currently available for a two-to-three year tenancy, has retained many of the features added by William including marble fireplaces, ornate coving and ceiling mouldings, and a cast-iron, first floor balcony. It also comes with some modern additions: a gym, wine cellar and passenger lift, a sculpture gallery, multiple dining rooms and an atrium with an incredibly high glass roof. An adjoining mews house is included in the rent.
Totalling 864 square meters in total, Peter Wetherall of Wetherall has called it ‘one of the finest townhouses in Mayfair’.
22, Charles Street is now available to rent for £25,000 a week via Wetherell estate agents.
-
Guy Ritchie: 'My mother married an impoverished aristocrat with a knackered country pile. I've been chasing that dream ever since'The film maker opens up about his love for the countryside, and his friendship with Sir David Beckham.
-
Mystery, muse and metaphor: There's more to fog than meets the eyeSmothering, transformative and beautiful, fog’s close-set shroud has inspired titans of literature, cinema and art — and forces the rest of us to look at the world a little closer.
-
Dream of revolution inside the 18th-century villa once occupied by Napoleon's French troopsAn apartment inside historic Villa Gnecchi Ruscone is on the market and it comes with a grand ballroom rumoured to have been frequented by Napoleon.
-
May the force be with you if you move into this London apartment block that Obi-Wan Kenobi (and Cher) once lived inOliver’s Wharf was once the residence of megastar Cher and the actor Sir Alec Guinness — as well as Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits.
-
125 glorious acres of Elizabethan elegance for sale in Cheshire that comes with a moatIs this real life? Is it just fantasy? No, it's Holford Hall.
-
Look around this James Bond-themed house for sale in Nottinghamshire and release your inner MI6 agentNow, come, come dear reader, you get as much fulfilment out of Skyfall as I do, so why don't you admit it?
-
The eclectic New York townhouse that Lily Allen sings about in her new, headline-making album is for sale381, Union Street is on the market just days after the singer’s latest album details the alleged infidelity in her marriage.
-
This Suffolk home is a perfect escape from the world and it comes with its own stretch of river and 20 acresThis idyllic home in Suffolk is the perfect village home.
-
The quaint Alpine village that got taken over by The BeatlesThe Beatles visited the Austrian resort of Obertauern to film their 1965 film Help!. Despite a distinct lack of prowess on the slopes, the Fab Four got by with a little help from some new-found friends, discovers Russell Higham.
-
The ultimate treehouse escape, where you can have a sauna and hot tub 12 metres above the forest floor, is for sale in DorsetGuy Mallinson's award-winning treehouses in Dorset are a true escape from the world. Anna White takes a look.
