Kate’s Uncle Gary gives ‘Bang Bang’ the bullet
THE Duchess of Cambridge’s uncle Gary Goldsmith has given his Ibizan villa a dramatic makeover as he bids to rent it out for £20,000 a week – and he’s even ditched its infamous name.
Gary – the younger brother of Kate’s mother Carole – has decided that Maison de Bang Bang should now be known by the more sophisticated Villa Tesoro de Oro as he tries to attract wealthy holidaymakers.
He’s also flaunting the four-bedroom property’s Royal background to try to find some takers. A blurb on the villa’s newly launched website reads: ‘The quality is reflected by the guests that have stayed there, which include royalty, oligarchs, football stars and famous DJs.’
Prince William and Kate stayed at Maison de Bang Bang in 2006 and were due to stay again in the summer of 2009 until Gary was involved in a cocaine sting and caught boasting about his Royal connections. He has been kept at arm’s-length by the Middletons ever since.
The house immediately became more famous for being the scene of Goldsmith’s seedy nights of excess than a beautiful luxury retreat and his boasts about watching pornography while there gave its name all the wrong connotations. I have also uncovered a blog in which Gary defends his original name choice. It reads: ‘It’s a great name, and better than the other ones I had in mind. I’m not Royal but should be.’
The villa’s new name means ‘golden treasure’ in Spanish and tycoon Gary has taken the theme to extremes with a bling new gold and silver colour scheme throughout. He has bought some interesting new artwork for the walls, too. One painting is of a woman wearing gold sunglasses and lipstick branded with the Louis Vuitton logo, and another is of a gold Rolex watch with the word ‘Relax’ across the face.
Other objets d’art include a gold Buddha and a selection of patterned British bulldog ornaments. A mural which read ‘It’s Gary’s world, you just live in it’ has been erased as part of the tasteful makeover.