Amal opens doors of her £10m home to fashion bible Vogue
...wearing £7m of Cartier jewellery bussed in by bulletproof security van
INVITING magazine photographers inside your home is usually the preserve of soap stars and footballers’ wives seeking a quick buck – not international humanrights barristers.
But most lawyers aren’t married to George Clooney; most magazines aren’t as upmarket as Vogue; and most photographers aren’t as acclaimed as Annie Leibovitz.
Amal Clooney has thrown open the doors of her family’s newly refurbished £10million Berkshire mansion to Ms Leibovitz, for an ‘at home’ interview, set to be published in a few months’ time.
And in the unlikely event that the A-listers’ nine-bedroom property isn’t impressive enough, Mrs Clooney, 40, has also borrowed £7million of diamonds to wear for the occasion.
The jewels, said to have been lent by Cartier, were delivered to the mansion on the banks of the Thames in a bulletproof Brinks security van last Wednesday.
A source close to the Clooneys told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This has been organised for a long while. It is Amal’s chance to do a sit-down interview and show the inside of her house.
‘It will be a really special piece for her. She and George have put blood, sweat and tears into getting their house to be perfect, so it’s the ideal location to do this.’
The choice of photographer is also significant, as Ms Leibovitz took the pictures of Amal during the final fitting of her Oscar de la Renta wedding dress for the couple’s marriage in September 2014. However, it is understood that neither George, 56, nor nine-monthold twins Alexander and Ella will appear in the new pictures.
The couple bought the 17th Century, Grade II listed mansion in the village of Sonning Eye – where neighbours include Theresa May and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page – for about £7.5 million in 2014, soon after they married.
They embarked on a major renovation, including an elegant refurbishment of the interior and the addition of a 12-seat cinema, a pool house and security measures.
The property also boasts a gym, spa, steam room, wine cellar and a library. But neighbours complained of ‘noisy and ugly’ building work, while the local council rejected the Clooneys’ plans for a large wooden pavilion overlooking the river.
No doubt everyone – not least the neighbours – will be intrigued to see the result of the work in Vogue.