Over the years, the empty house fell into disrepair, so it came as a surprise when it sold in 2007 for £15 million – £3 million ($4m) over the asking price and the equivalent of some £25.4 million ($34.2m) in today's money – in a deal viewed by some as suspect. The owner was later revealed to be billionaire oligarch Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of long-time Kazakh leader and Putin ally Nursultan Nazarbayev.

While Sunninghill Park had an owner, by 2009, the estate lay abandoned. In December 2013, planning permission was granted to replace the rundown royal residence with a sprawling manor, but demolition work didn't begin until 2015. A far cry from the British royal family's grand private homes, the eyesore was eventually reduced to rubble in 2016. A shiny new mansion has taken shape in its place.

Abandoned celebrity mansions: the deserted homes of the rich and famous