Last night single in cot of Profumo affair
IT CELEBRATES a past of “unapologetic debauchery”, from its foundation as home for a noble mistress to its starring role in the Profumo scandal.
Now Cliveden House Hotel can add another event of note to its colourful history as Meghan Markle spends her last night before her wedding there.
The couple are spending their last unmarried night apart in traditional style.
Markle and her mother, Doria, will have the final night’s sleep at Cliveden Estate in Taplow, Berkshire, before Markle’s wedding at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
The next morning mother and daughter will travel by car to St George’s Chapel which is inside the castle.
Prince Harry and the Duke of Cambridge, his best man, will stay at nearby Coworth Park, where Markle was spotted watching her betrothed play polo at the beginning of their romance.
Cliveden describes itself as having a “history of unapologetic debauchery”, with the Grade I listed stately home notorious for the “most heinous of scandals [which] shook the British parliament and played out on these very grounds”.
Advertising a “Profumo Affair Break”, the hotel emphasises its links with the “scurrilous secrets” of 1961, when John Profumo first caught sight of a 19year-old Christine Keeler cooling off in the outdoor pool.
“Profumo and Keeler embarked on an illicit affair following their chance meeting at Cliveden House; an affair which was to force his resignation, irrevocably damage the prime minister’s reputation, and impact on the course of British politics forever,” the hotel boasts.
Built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress, the estate has hosted “powerful personalities, debaucherous parties and scandalous affairs” for more than 350 years, its website says.
Markle and her mother will have a choice of luxury rooms, one being the aptly-named Prince of Wales suite.
Prince Harry and his brother will be put up in the familiar surroundings of Coworth Park in Ascot.
Kensington Palace stated: “Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle will stay at separate hotels in the Windsor area.”
The palace also announced the couple’s first official event as a married couple – three days after their wedding they will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace. –