Latest news with #GreatPark
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Queen's gift that turned into a disaster revealed: How a lavish wedding gift for Fergie and Prince Andrew ended up bringing the late monarch to her breaking point
He has spent the past year trying to persuade his disgraced brother Prince Andrew to move out of Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, where he has lived for the past two decades, since the death of the Queen Mother in 2002. The King has cut Andrew's private security and £1 million allowance in a bid to encourage him to move into nearby Frogmore Cottage, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which is more modest and easier to guard. But now a new Channel 5 documentary, reveals that the late Queen Elizabeth II was equally pushed to breaking point by her favourite son, when he and the Duchess of York were building their first marital home, Sunninghill Park. And she finally cut off the purse strings after the bills for the 30-bedroom mansion, which, in a twist on JR's Dallas ranch Southfork, became known as SouthYork, spiralled out of control, topping their budget of £250,000. Speaking on the programme Fergie, Andrew & The Scandal of SouthYork, author Andrew Lownie, who has written a biography about the couple, Entitled, said: 'The Queen, I think, eventually put her foot down and said, you know, this is crazy. 'At that point, they hadn't built the swimming pool and the tennis court, and who knows whether the helicopter pad was there then either.' It is now almost half a century since Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson on July 23, 1986, in front of 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey, including celebrities such as Sir Elton John and Michael Caine. The wedding list reputedly totalled £1.5million and more than 2,000 gifts were received from all over the world. They were temporarily stored in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom. Top priority for the couple was to find their marital home, which was a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth. But the couple could not find anywhere to meet their exacting demands. Finally, the Queen offered them the site of Sunninghill Park, a 5,000-acre estate with lakes, woodlands and gardens, which sat on the edge of Windsor Great Park, four miles from where Andrew now lives. The 18th century house, which was requisitioned by the American Ninth Air Force squadron of fighter pilots during World War II, had been earmarked for a young Princess Elizabeth and her fiancé, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten after their 1947 marriage. But during renovations, a workman in the library dropped a cigarette and the whole building went up on flames. Despite dozens of firemen battling to save the mansion, it was razed to the ground. Work began on the newbuild – the first Royal newbuild since Bagshot Park in 1879 – but immediately attracted controversy over its design, by architect Dunbar Naismith, which was more American ranch than English stately home. 'They tweaked and reshaped the designs over and over again, much to the frustration of their architect, said Talk TV's Royal editor Sarah Hewson. 'When Prince Philip, never one to mince his words, saw the plans, he described it as looking like a 'tart's bedroom'.' Fergie then caused a huge uproar by commissioning the American designer Sister Parrish, who had designed the White House, to decorate Sunninghill Park. She got a quote for £1 million and handed it to the Queen, who complained that the price was too high, forcing her to switch to the British designer Nina Campbell, who had designed London hotspot Annabel's. She was reportedly given a budget of £250,000 – almost half a million today – to cater for the couple's long list of demands, which included a panic room, cinema room, helipad, swimming pool and tennis courts. However, their extravagant designs spiralled out of control and broke the couple's budget. At that stage, midway through 1990, the Palace refused to pay any more. 'By this stage, Sunninghill Park was proving to be a financial headache,' added Hewson, 'in particular, for the Queen, notoriously financially prudent who was having to foot the ever-escalating bills.' Instead of accepting the decision, Fergie looked around to find another way to earn the money. She came up with another way to fund her dream home, inviting Hello! magazine in to do a lavish photoshoot. They were paid £200,000 for a 45-page spread, which led to them being derided over their taste: the house was filled with teddy bears, cushions with trite slogans, personalised toilet holders including one that sang God Save The Queen.' The Yorks moved in to the house in October 1990 and threw a huge housewarming party with a jungle theme with waitresses in leopard skin and fake animals in the bushes 'Fergie had a very enterprising idea that she would do a photoshoot for Hello!' said Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine. 'Nobody in the royal family had ever done a shoot like that.' 'Although the Queen never commented publicly on it, she was less than pleased,' added Hewson. 'She saw it as lacking decorum that it was an invasion of privacy. Prince Philip, he just thought it was downright tacky and distasteful.' The Yorks finally moved in on October 5, 1990, throwing a huge housewarming party with a jungle theme. There were fake animals popping out of the bushes, waitresses in leopard skin and Elton John performed Your Song. Andrew and Sarah mingled with guests including Billy Connolly, Pamela Stephenson David Frost and Imran Khan, before slow dancing on the dance floor. However, the couple's marriage was already on the rocks as Andrew, who was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, was stationed at sea and Fergie was stranded home alone with Princesses Beatrice, two, and baby Eugenie. Within 18 months, after Fergie was caught having an affair with American playboy Steve Wyatt, Andrew filed for divorce and the SouthYork dream was over. Fergie, Andrew & The Scandal of SouthYork is on Channel 5 on Saturday July 26 at 8pm.
Globe and Mail
10-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Toll Brothers Announces Five New Collections Coming Soon to Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, California
IRVINE, Calif., June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL), the nation's leading builder of luxury homes, today announced it will open five new collections of homes in its Toll Brothers at Great Park Neighborhoods community in highly sought-after Irvine, California. The community is set to open for sale in fall 2025. This new master plan within Great Park Neighborhoods will feature five distinct luxury new home collections: Elm, Birch, Rowan, Alder, and Laurel. This exclusive new location will offer proximity to the future Canopy retail space as well as easy access to the Great Park ice skating rinks, various sports fields, parks, pools and clubhouses. The new home collections will include a selection of all-new single-family and townhome designs, including luxury features and options for personalization. Toll Brothers at Great Park Neighborhoods will offer luxury living in a vibrant and active setting. The community provides access to a plethora of established, resort-style amenities in the Great Park Neighborhoods master plan, including a trail-woven network of parks and green spaces, over 20 refreshing pools and spas, gardens and greenhouses, fitness centers, and an ongoing calendar of events and activities that foster a sense of fun and belonging. Within the Toll Brothers at Great Park Neighborhoods community, residents will also enjoy a variety of additional amenities including an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an outdoor pool, picnic areas, a social lounge, sports fields, walking trails, and open spaces. 'We are thrilled to introduce five new collections in Great Park Neighborhoods, each offering award-winning home designs and exceptional amenities,' said Brad Hare, Division President of Toll Brothers in Southern California. 'This community represents the pinnacle of luxury living in Irvine, and we are excited to help families find their dream home and a lifestyle to match.' Toll Brothers customers will experience one-stop shopping at the Toll Brothers Design Studio. The state-of-the-art Design Studio allows customers to choose from a wide array of selections to personalize their dream home with the assistance of Toll Brothers professional Design Consultants. The community's prime location near Ridge Valley and Hornet provides convenient access to future retail spaces. The community is located within the top-rated Irvine Unified School District, offering excellent education options for families. For more information and to join Toll Brothers interest list for Toll Brothers at Great Park Neighborhoods, call (866) 232-1631 or visit About Toll Brothers Toll Brothers, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company, is the nation's leading builder of luxury homes. The Company was founded 58 years ago in 1967 and became a public company in 1986. Its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'TOL.' The Company serves first-time, move-up, empty-nester, active-adult, and second-home buyers, as well as urban and suburban renters. Toll Brothers builds in over 60 markets in 24 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington, as well as in the District of Columbia. The Company operates its own architectural, engineering, mortgage, title, land development, smart home technology, and landscape subsidiaries. The Company also develops master-planned and golf course communities as well as operates its own lumber distribution, house component assembly, and manufacturing operations. Toll Brothers has been one of Fortune magazine's World's Most Admired Companies™ for 10+ years in a row, and in 2024 the Company's Chairman and CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. was named one of 25 Top CEOs by Barron's magazine. Toll Brothers has also been named Builder of the Year by Builder magazine and is the first two-time recipient of Builder of the Year from Professional Builder magazine. For more information visit From Fortune, ©2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
King Charles and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh share a sweet embrace while attending the Royal Windsor Flower Show
King Charles was photographed warmly embracing his sister in law Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh as the two visited the Royal Windsor Flower Show on Saturday. The annual event, which is which is billed as 'a joyful one-day celebration of gardening, nature, food and traditional crafts' was inspired by an idea from his book. And the monarch - a keen gardener - certainly seemed to be enjoying his day out, as he was snapped stopping to smell the flowers during his visit to the show. Gardener Alan Titchmarsh, who is the honorary president of the Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society, helped to welcome the royal party including the Duchess of Edinburgh who officially opened the event. The theme for this year's show, held at the York Club in Windsor Great Park, is Patterns in Nature' inspired by Charles's 2010 book called Harmony: A New Way Of Looking At Our World. The King's Foundation explains Charles's philosophy of harmony is aimed at understanding 'the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world' to 'create a more sustainable future'. It adds: 'The Harmony philosophy sees everything in nature as interconnected, including ourselves. 'This means taking a holistic approach to the challenges facing our planet, and looking to solve these challenges by working with nature, rather than against her.' The King looked dapper in a grey piece suit, while Sophie looked stylish in a blue maxi dress, with an appropriate floral print. Apart from looking at the displays Charles smiled and shook hands with members of the public and Sophie chatted with Chelsea pensioners. There were also expert talks, demonstrations and hands-on workshops on offer for those who attended. Saturday was the 118th edition of the show, which has Charles as its patron. Sophie's appearance today came after a recent rare double outing with Prince William on Friday. The two went to Wadebridge, Cornwall for a rare joint engagement as patrons of the Royal Agricultural Association that organises the show. The King was pictured embracing his sister in law as the two both attended the Royal Windsor Flower Show on Saturday William and Sophie appeared comfortable and relaxed in each other's presence, as the royals shared a good-natured laugh after they arrived at the agricultural show. The pair opted for smart casual ensembles, with the Duke of Cornwall picking a grey sport coat with a light blue shirt for his visit. He completed the look with a navy tie and matching accessories. Still sporting the beard that left royal fans swooning, William greeted well-wishers who had gathered outside the venue in Wadebridge in Cornwall. Meanwhile, Sophie was beaming as she waved at crowds, wearing a greige checked blazer. She paired it with a tan, calf-length skirt and a light pink shirt. She finished her outfit with burgundy boots and a forest green bag with tan accents, and accessorised with a diamond pendant necklace and timeless gold hoops. Sophie's makeup was fresh and dewy, as the mother-of-two wore a light layer of foundation, the faintest hint of blush, and a soft pink lipstick for the occasion. Upon their arrival, their Royal Highnesses were shown around the Royal Cornwall Food and Farming Pavillion as they inspected dozens of stalls stocked with artisanal food and drink from producers across the region. At the gin stand, William joked he could 'see what today's going to be like' before he and Sophie were shown a number of varieties before being given one to try. After a bit more talking, he caught the Duchess going for another sip and he joked to her: 'You're not allowed to finish it. You've got to watch her.'
The Independent
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
King and Duchess of Edinburgh visit Royal Windsor Flower Show
The King has visited the Royal Windsor Flower Show, which this year is inspired by an idea from his book. Charles, who has a passion for gardening, stopped to smell the flowers during his visit to the show which is billed as 'a joyful one-day celebration of gardening, nature, food and traditional crafts'. Gardener Alan Titchmarsh, who is the honorary president of the Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society, helped to welcome the royal party including the Duchess of Edinburgh who officially opened the event. The theme for this year's show, held at the York Club in Windsor Great Park, is Patterns in Nature' inspired by Charles's 2010 book called Harmony: A New Way Of Looking At Our World. The King's Foundation explains Charles's philosophy of harmony is aimed at understanding 'the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world' to 'create a more sustainable future'. It adds: 'The Harmony philosophy sees everything in nature as interconnected, including ourselves. 'This means taking a holistic approach to the challenges facing our planet, and looking to solve these challenges by working with nature, rather than against her.' Apart from looking at the displays Charles smiled and shook hands with members of the public and Sophie chatted with Chelsea pensioners. There were also expert talks, demonstrations and hands-on workshops on offer for those who attended. Saturday was the 118th edition of the show, which has Charles as its patron.
Telegraph
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Duchess bows to the King as they visit Royal Windsor Flower Show
The King has visited the Royal Windsor Flower Show, which this year is inspired by an idea from his book. The monarch, who has a passion for gardening, stopped to smell the flowers during his visit to the show, which is billed as 'a joyful one-day celebration of gardening, nature, food and traditional crafts'. Gardener Alan Titchmarsh, who is the honorary president of the Royal Windsor Rose & Horticultural Society, helped to welcome the royal party, including the Duchess of Edinburgh, who officially opened the event. The theme for this year's show, held at the York Club in Windsor Great Park, is Patterns in Nature, inspired by the King's 2010 book called Harmony: A New Way Of Looking At Our World. The King's Foundation explains his philosophy of harmony is aimed at understanding 'the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world' to 'create a more sustainable future'. It adds: 'The Harmony philosophy sees everything in nature as interconnected, including ourselves. 'This means taking a holistic approach to the challenges facing our planet, and looking to solve these challenges by working with nature, rather than against her.' Apart from looking at the displays, the King smiled and shook hands with members of the public as Sophie chatted with Chelsea pensioners. There were also expert talks, demonstrations and hands-on workshops on offer for those who attended. Saturday was the 118th edition of the show, which has the King as its patron.
