Kensington Palace Gardens

There are many hidden gems in London thatFor the duration of the 20th Century a vast
often go under the radar of the tourist andmajority of property was occupied by embassies
missed even by the people that live near by.and ambassadors' residents.
Kensington Palace Gardens is one of those that isMany of the properties have changed hands and
a true gift that has stood the test of time. This isone of the properties was sold to the Indian Steel
a location that is steeped in history and a populartycoon Lakshmi Mittal who was reported in 2008
choice for many of the rich and famous fromby Forbes Magazine at the forth richest man in
around the globe.the world. He paid a reported £57,000,000 for
The area is a street in west central London and isthe property.
the location of some of the grandest and mostThe previous tenant was Bernie Ecclestone the
expensive houses in the world and you wouldformula one racing boss. He bought the property
have to be of the elite to live there.for £50 million which was a dramatic reduction
Used during the Second World War as well as theto the £85 million that was being asked for it.
Cold War by the British government M19 as aNether the less it's out of the reach of most of
secure base.us. It was reported that Ecclestones wife never
The surrounding area is decorated with a half mileliked the 55,000 foot square, 18 bedroom mansion
long row of green trees that run right through theso they never moved in.
land. This stunning area is known as 'BillionairesDue to the high profile individuals that life in the
Row', which is mainly due to the wealth of it'sarea there are gates and security check points as
private residents.well as a heavy armed police presence to protect
The area was build from the 1840s onwards onthe residents from becoming terrorist targets as
part of the grounds of Kensington Palace and thesome residents are part of Israeli and Russian
freehold still belongs to the Crown Estate.Embassy workers.