King Juan Carlos's ex-lover is selling her remote £15M stately home

2023-01-21

King Juan Carlos’s ex-lover is selling her remote £15M stately home in the heart of Shropshire – after telling friends she fears for her life due to ‘shadowy forces’ working for the Royal

Princess Corinna zu Wittgenstein-Sayn hopes to get £15million for Chyknell Hall
The businesswoman, 57, has told friends she feels unsafe at the mansion
Read: How Juan Carlos’ five-year affair almost brought down Spain’s monarchy

The former lover of King Juan Carlos of Spain is selling her stately home in Shropshire after telling friends she fears for her safety from ‘shadowy forces’ working for the Royal.

Princess Corinna zu Wittgenstein-Sayn hopes to receive up to £15million for Chyknell Hall, a Regency-era mansion set amid a 200-acre shooting estate, which she is selling privately.

The businesswoman, 57, has told friends she feels unsafe at the house, which was previously broken into in a raid she believes was carried out by secret forces working for the former King, who abdicated the throne in 2014, two years after their affair was exposed.

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn is embroiled in long-running legal action against Juan Carlos, 85, whom she accuses of harassment and placing her under ‘constant hostile’ surveillance since 2012. He denies any wrongdoing.

Princess Corinna zu Wittgenstein-Sayn (pictured) hopes to receive up to £15million for Chyknell Hall

Chyknell Hall is a Regency-era mansion set amid a 200-acre shooting estate and is being sold privately

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn is embroiled in long-running legal action against Juan Carlos (pictured), 85, whom she accuses of harassment and placing her under ‘constant hostile’ surveillance since 2012

A friend of the Danish businesswoman told The Mail on Sunday that she is saddened to part with Chyknell Hall, which she bought for £6million in 2015.

The friend said: ‘She has transformed the property and its grounds into something quite spectacular and she is well-liked by the local community. It is rather sad but I understand that her harassment case in London against Juan Carlos of Spain has made her wary of living in a remote property.’

Another friend said: ‘She’s had quite a lot of English and foreign interest, quite a few people. It’s not that the house is not safe, it’s her issues with Spain. She’s not leaving the UK, but she’s in the US a lot and she’s obviously got this issue about [Chyknell] being very remote.’

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn had intended Chyknell Hall to be a lifelong UK base for her 20-year-old son Alexander from her second marriage to the German Prince Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, whom she divorced in 2005.

The businesswoman, 57, has told friends she feels unsafe at the house, which was previously broken into in a raid

A friend of the Danish businesswoman told The Mail on Sunday that she is saddened to part with Chyknell Hall, which she bought for £6million in 2015

Prince Alexander, who attends university in the UK, regularly hosts parties attended by wealthy and well-connected high-society friends with his mother at the 11-bedroom property. But recently friends say that the invitations have dried up.

Following a break-in at the grounds in 2017, she told this newspaper she found a perfectly cut round hole, the size of a plate, missing from a pane of glass in her bedroom window. Nothing else in the property had been taken or disturbed. She blamed the intrusion on ‘shadowy forces’ acting for her former lover the King.

Nevertheless, she continued to reside at the property until recently. She has spent a fortune modernising the Grade II-listed home, which was built in 1814.

The redevelopment included an indoor-outdoor kitchen and breakfast room by top designer Isabel Bannerman. The home also boasts a cinema room, a neoclassical library and wallpaper by Nicky Haslam in the bedrooms.

Following a break-in at the grounds in 2017, she told this newspaper she found a perfectly cut round hole, the size of a plate, missing from a pane of glass in her bedroom window

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn had intended Chyknell Hall to be a lifelong UK base for her 20-year-old son Alexander

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn intends to base herself in New York and London, where she owns a flat worth over £5 million bought partly with money gifted to her by Juan Carlos during their five-year affair, which took place while he was reportedly estranged from his wife, Queen Sofia.

He gifted Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn £58 million in 2012, once they had broken up, but tried to claw it back after he abdicated.

Their relationship remained a secret until 2012 when it emerged that Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn and the King had been on safari to Botswana. During the trip the King shot an elephant.

When the trip came to light it sparked a scandal and the King abdicated two years later.

Juan Carlos (left) had a five-year affair with Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn, which took place while he was reportedly estranged from his wife, Queen Sofia (right)

Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn has launched legal action in London’s High Court against the former King. She is seeking damages and an injunction over allegations he has caused her ‘great mental pain’ as a result of ‘a continuous and ongoing campaign of harassment’.

Last year, UK Court of Appeal judges ruled the former King had immunity for the period before he abdicated in 2014.

Her claim will be heard at a trial expected to be next year.

A source close to the Princess said: ‘She’s been terribly abused and now it’s all coming out and he’s not going to be able to get away with it. Juan Carlos won his immunity claim for a narrow 24-month period pre-abdication, but it has no impact on Ms zu Wittgenstein-Sayn’s case. The court case is moving forward.’

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