When Andrew of England and Sarah Ferguson got married, back in July 1986, Queen Elizabeth II, the groom's mother, gave the couple two things: the title of Dukes of York and a house.
Not just anybody, but a spectacular 12-bedroom mansion set in the Berkshire countryside (near Windsor), on 2.7 square kilometers with a swimming pool and tennis courts.
The place, called Sunninghill Park, did not take long to generate problems, and has ended up becoming a nightmare that haunts the third son of the sovereign, already implicated in a handful of scandals.
Andrés sold what was his official residence between 1990 and 2004 to a wealthy Kazakh oligarch named Timur Kulibayev.
That was in 2007, but the details were not known until 2010. Then it was learned that the sale had been for 15 million pounds, 18.2 million euros at the time, about three million above the market price.
In addition, then it also became known that, in addition to being rich, Kulibayev was one of the most powerful men in his country, being married to Dinara Nazarbayeva, the daughter of the country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, with whom he is also a good friend.
The sale did not cease to be suspicious at any time: the house had raised little or no interest among buyers - although the property dates from the 19th century, the construction was recent, from the 1950s, since the previous one had been destroyed by a fire - but it had been sold much more expensive than usual.
In addition, after its sale no one occupied it: it was empty for eight years, with broken doors and windows, the yard destroyed and invaded by weeds and some stolen pieces.
The authorities considered turning it into a shelter for the homeless, and it ended up being demolished in 2016. That was after managing to remove the more than 100 bats that had invaded it.
Prince Andrew has always wanted to forget that place, his first home as a married man and father of a family, where he lived until 2004 (when he moved to the Royal Lodge in Windsor left by his grandmother, the Queen Mother, as an inheritance) and Sarah Ferguson and his daughters until 2006. However, the scandal seems to haunt him, because now new information about it comes to light, such as that, after three years of construction, Sunninghill has once again had a house, and a very luxurious one.
On the land left by the previous construction, an imposing mansion now stands with several buildings, well-kept gardens, flower beds, new trees and its classic tennis court.
This time the outdoor swimming pool - not too easy to use in the English countryside - has been changed to a heated indoor one.
According to the
Daily Mail
newspaper
, the house has six en-
suite
bedrooms
, a sauna, Turkish bath, an ice room, a gym and a game room.
Two large rooms with dressing rooms, terraces and a living room would be located on the upper floor.
Upstairs would also be the children's wing, with two bedrooms with full bathrooms and dressing rooms and another for the babysitters.
Outside there would also be a park with slides.
The luxury of the place could correspond with that of the fortune amassed by Kulibayev, who at 53 years old is ranked 743 on the
Forbes
list
of the richest men in the world, with about 2.43 billion euros.
However, according to the documents to which the same British newspaper has had access, the property now belongs to a Luxembourg investment fund, it is unknown whether it is owned by Kulibayev or with any relationship to him.
Therefore, it is unknown whether he, his wife and their three children will live in it.
Andres, who has always maintained that the sale of Sunninghill was entirely transparent and legal, is good friends with the Kazakh tycoon, adviser to Gazprom, and they have been seen hunting together.
In addition, in his role as a commercial ambassador - a title he lost last November - he has also helped the Asian country do business.
From Kazakhstan she is also the prince's good friend named Goga Ashkenazi and known as Lady Goga, who introduced the prince and Kulibayev.
In fact, Goga and the magnate have two children together outside the marriage of the Kazakh with the daughter of the former president of her country.
The never-ending story of Sunninghill Park is another of Andrés's headaches, and there are many: his back-and-forth relationship with Sarah Ferguson, the Swiss chalet he shares with her and his defaults, the problems with his secretary personal, the dubious benefits obtained from his position as trade ambassador, his absence from the wedding of his daughter Beatriz ... The Duke of York's biggest problem comes from his relationship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison a year ago.
The queen's third son was good friends with the American, so much so that she has been associated with underage women, like her colleague, and participating in orgies with her.
This friendship relationship is taking its toll on him to such an extent that in November he granted a criticized interview where he spoke about him, confirming that he was not "up to the task."
The talk with the BBC cost him his job.
Since November Andrew has become an outcast for the British royal family.