Buy a beach house in the Bahamas where Princess Diana once stayed
Apr 14, 2020 • 2 min read
Casuarina Beach was designed by Happy Ward and built in 1969 © Christie’s International Real Estate
If you fancy a holiday property with royal cachet, you could purchase a beach house in the Bahamas where the late Princess Diana once stayed.
The five-bedroom Casuarina Beach was designed by architect Robertson "Happy" Ward, and it was built in 1969 and refurbished in 2009. It has a pool and terrace, and is situated on 1.05 acres with 180 feet of private white-sand frontage. It is located in the exclusive gated community of Lyford Cay on the 34km-long New Providence island.
Four generations of the Menzies family have called Casuarina Beach home, and Princess Diana vacationed there in 1993 with her sons, Prince William and Harry. They were guests of Kate Menzies, and were accompanied by Andrew Charlton and Catherine and Harry Soames. Ken Wharfe, the princess's royal protection officer, wrote about the stay at Casuarina Beach in his 2017 book, "Guarding Diana: Protecting the Princess Around the World.
He commented on how it afforded a great deal of privacy, being part of a huge luxury complex that is privately policed. The complex is home to the exclusive Lyford Cay Club, which features a white sand beach, golf course, marina, tennis courts, fitness centre and international school.
The beach house has 6.5 bathrooms and almost 5000 square feet of interior space. All of the principal rooms in the house open onto a central courtyard, featuring a heated swimming pool and terraces for entertaining. The majority of rooms also benefit from having views out to sea.
The property is for sale for $12.5 million (€11.45 million) through Christie's International Real Estate, and further information is available here.
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