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Inside Camilla's £850k 'guilty pleasure' country pad - and Charles 'hates' it

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Inside Camilla's £850k 'guilty pleasure' country pad - and Charles 'hates' it
Inside Camilla's £850k 'guilty pleasure' country pad - and Charles 'hates' it

THIS is the £850,000 country home where Queen Camilla loves to sneak off to - but King Charles hates it.

Friends say the Ray Mill mansion in Lacock, Wiltshire, is Camilla’s “guilty pleasure” and boasts an outdoor swimming pool, stables and a river.

Queen Camilla's Ray Mill House in Wiltshire eiqtierideeprw
Queen Camilla's Ray Mill House in WiltshireCredit: Rex
It boasts an outdoor swimming pool
It boasts an outdoor swimming poolCredit: Rex
Friends say it is her favourite place to go to relax
Friends say it is her favourite place to go to relaxCredit: Rex
She lived in the manor for seven years after her divorce
She lived in the manor for seven years after her divorceCredit: Getty

It became hers after her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles - and was purchased with personal funds so is not a part of the royal portfolio of property.

She lived there from 1996 - 2003, and despite now having many royal manors and palaces at her disposal friends say it's where she likes to retreat to the most.

Pals say the house is important to Camilla as it's where she spends time with her children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, and her five grandchildren.

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And it’s where she can relax away from the public eye.

A source told Daily Express: "At Ray Mill, she can sit down with a big G&T, kick off her shoes and watch Coronation Street, which Charles loathes.

"She also doesn’t have to bother about how the place looks – Charles is so fussy about tidiness, while she leaves her stuff all over the place.

"She doesn’t need her cushions plumped all the time."

Another pal previously said: "That house is where she can cook scrambled eggs in her dressing gown and be among those she loves with not a jot of ceremony or anyone looking at her.

"It is home."

Meanwhile Interior design expert Deepa Mehta-Sagar and founder of Area Decor LLC in Dubai has described what it looks like inside.

She said: "Ray Mill House comes with acres of gardens, stables, an outdoor swimming pool, and an elegant terrace. Enormous windows overlook lush gardens.

"All of this showcases the Queen Consort’s love of nature and the outdoors. The interiors are interspersed with wooden detailing and dark-wood furnishings which spell luxury while still being enveloped in a sense of warmth.

"It captures the Queen Consort’s genuine, down-to-earth demeanour. Of the many homes Camilla lives in, this is probably where she is most herself.

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"After all, this is her privately owned residence and a home where she spent many years before moving in with King Charles in 2003.

“Since becoming Queen, Camilla has maintained her personal home with Ms Mehta-Sagar suggesting it is because it is "an extension of her identity".

She believes it’s the “perfect hideaway” for the Queen.

She explained: "Reportedly, this is where the Queen Consort spends time with her children and grandchildren, away from the public gaze.

"The Queen Consort has always loved outdoor pursuits and is passionate about gardening.

"In this, the lush, enormous gardens at Wiltshire, far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, are an ode to her."

The mansion is where she gets to spend time with her grandchildren
The mansion is where she gets to spend time with her grandchildrenCredit: Rex
Pals say it's where she watches Coronation Street - which Charles hates
Pals say it's where she watches Coronation Street - which Charles hatesCredit: Rex

Sarah Grealish

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