Prince Charles is reportedly converting the granary and stables at his grandma’s retreat, Castle of Mey, to 10 different luxury rooms for guests. His move is to ensure that visitors can also get to experience the property’s charm and calm. It will be noted that the Castle used to be for the entertainment of Queen Elizabeth’s high-ranking guests.
A media outlet recently reported that the Prince gets weekly updates about the property which is scheduled to officially open in April 2019. In addition, he is also overseeing all the project’s details. For instance, he is hand-picking fabrics that would be used for the furnishings.
The apartment is being referred to as Heir B&B by different media outlets. The accommodation will have eco-friendly heating and the ongoing conversion will make use of materials sourced locally and gotten from craftsmen if possible. Features reminding visitors of the granny who died sometime in 2002 will be left in conspicuous places. Queen Elizabeth’s ER motif will reportedly be engraved in to the dining room’s skylight and her portrait will also be hung on the cottage walls.
Queen Mother’s Possession
Queen Elizabeth reportedly found the castle located on British mainland attractive when she was visiting her highland friends mourning King George VI’s death in 1952.
Sometime later in the year, she purchased the property that comes with walled garden and spans 24 acres. She went on to renovate and restore the property. The Prince also reportedly developed a liking for the castle when he went there as a kid on holidays. Prince Charles stayed at the castle for one week during every summer.
The love of the Queen for this castle was documented by Godfrey Talbot who was the official correspondent of the Royal Court in 1978. According to Talbot, even when Queen Elizabethwent back to London, she still regularly maintained contact with the Castle of Mey to know how the sheep was progressing, how healthy her cattle herd was and what was going on with fruit and flower sale from the walled garden.
Prince’s Foundation executive director, Kenneth Dunsmuir, said that Prince Charles is attempting to keep the retreat going in memory of his grandmother, drive the castle forward and also provide a greater future for the castle.
Dunsmuir noted that the castle was close to ruins before it was saved by Queen Elizabethand he added that this new project would have pleased her.
Additional Details
In addition to the conversion of the granary and stables, an entirely new building will be constructed. This new building will serve as the reception, sitting room and the dining room.
Dunsmuir explained that the new building isn’t as high as the granary that is already in existent. The reason for that, according to him, is that the Prince wants a maintenance of view line.
Currently, Dunsmuir said they are already making plans for the rooms, furniture, fabrics, colours and lighting style and the Prince’s decision on every detail is final. The Prrince loves the details as in his opinion that makes the place special.
This Castle of Mey is originally run with the funds of a charitable trust. The money being used for the development comes from private donations and it is expected that the income gotten the from the apartment will supplement whatever funds are gotten from those who visit the castle. The guests are expected to be about 29,000 for this year 2018.
The rooms will go for about £160 per night. The guests will be served breakfast and dinner prepared using local ingredients. Should the project emerge successful, sources claim that there are already plans that it would also be used as a venue for weddings as well.
Project Background
A statement contained in the planning application highlighted the background of the project. The statement explained that the Trust for the Castle of Mey has been carrying out research into diversification opportunities in a bid to provide wider facilities and offerings to visitors so as to increase the income gotten from the Castle.
The granary as indicated in the application that has already been approved has an important role to play in the diversification plan. That is because offering high quality accommodation to visitors is vital to the progress and success of several parts of the Castle’s business. As such, this conversion is just one part of diversification plan for the property.
