Who owns Cliveden House now?
CLIVEDEN HOUSE is a five-star luxury hotel; the building is owned by the National Trust and operated under a long lease arrangement by Iconic Luxury Hotels. Step inside the house to hear Cliveden’s stories from the Astor family and more. Cliveden House is currently leased as a luxury country hotel and generally not open to National Trust Visitors. However, March – October, National Trust visitors can enjoy a 30-minute guided visit, every 10 minutes from 11am-12:30pm.
Why did the Astors sell Cliveden?
The ‘Profumo Affair’ in 1963 shattered the Astor’s lives. The death shortly afterwards of Waldorf and Nancy’s son Bill hastened the family’s decision to leave Cliveden. Waldorf Astor had given Cliveden to the National Trust in 1942 and in 1966 the Trust took over the management of the estate, opening it to the public. The Astors, William Waldorf Astor was immensely rich and purchased Cliveden for $1. In 1894 Mamie, Lady Astor died at the age of 36. William was devastated and became almost a recluse at Cliveden spending all of his time and effort on changes to the House and his home in London.
Did Meghan Markle stay at Cliveden?
First, a Bit of History About the Hotel Meghan Markle (pictured above at Cliveden with her mom Doria) isn’t the only royal to spend the night at Cliveden. In fact, the property—which only became a hotel in 1985—has quite a range of royal ties. Inside Cliveden, the Very British Country House that was Meghan Markle’s pre-wedding hotel. As a new Channel 4 programme, A Very British Country House, profiles life behind the scenes at Cliveden, we take a look around the hotel that hosted Meghan Markle the night before her wedding to Prince Harry.