It is a private island, owned by the Mustique company, stretches across 2.2 square miles, and has a population of 500. Shelley McLaughlin In the 2018 BBC documentary The Rebel Royal Basil Charles, former owner of Basil’s Bar on Mustique, remembered Margaret as “a trailblazer . Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The Royal family have been regular visitors to the island; this is the seventh time Will and Kate have … Macaroni Beach is perhaps the most famous of Mustique's beaches and is situated on the east coast of the island. Six years later Charles died, aged 39. Colin's father, Christopher, was the second eldest son of Eddy and Pamela Glenconner. +44 207 201 6831, Sales & Reservations In … Margaret would visit, staying in a hillside villa Glenconner found for her. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Henry, a colourful figure 6ft 7in tall with long blond hair, died of an Aids-related illness aged 29 in 1990. A prime example: Mick Jagger, who owns a six-bedroom and five-bathroom beachfront compound on the pristine and private West Indies island of … Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Named after its giant mosquitoes, the island was three and a half miles long, and Glenconner set about developing it as a deluxe resort. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Glenconner left for the Caribbean. Mustique is unlike any other Caribbean island. It was noted that the pair stayed at Glen, and were together at Balmoral for her birthday: Glenconner dreaded coming down to the newspapers at breakfast, with "announcements" of their engagement. Later he said that the Princess intimated to him that he had "as good as" proposed to her; he thought this might have been true, but couldn't have imagined life with her: "She would have been an impossible wife.". Caribbean Islands - Mustique -- not so great - We just got back from a week in Mustique, and came away unimpressed. He had agreed to talk about his relationship with Princess Margaret, who was then seriously ill. As I had written a biography of his uncle Stephen, Glenconner told Brown he wanted me to conduct the interview. Lord Glenconner, a Scot, once owned Mustique, a verdant island in the Caribbean. The Mustique Company, the island’s management company with over 756 resident staff, is led by Managing Director, Roger Pritchard. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Their eldest son, Edward "Bim" Tennant, a budding poet, died during the First World War, leaving Christopher to inherit the title on his father's death in 1922, as well as the baronial pile, Glen, in Perthshire, and responsibility for the family business (the Tennants' wealth dated back to the Industrial Revolution and the discovery of a chemical formulation for bleach). It was Snowdon's first and last visit to the island, and Tennant saw little of Margaret until her marriage began to disintegrate. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. He lives in St. Lucia with wife Lady Anne Coke (herself an Earl's daughter and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret) and their sole surviving son, Christopher, disabled by an accident. Should you have any queries please read our Health Advice sheet or alternatively please contact the Clinic at clinic@mustique.vc or call +1 784 488 8353. His kinsman, Simon Blow – whose Broken Blood: The Rise and Fall of the Tennant Family would receive its controversial publication in 1987 – maintained he was "hardly ever" in the office, preferring to concentrate on his social life and driving his Ford Thunderbird. His paternal grandmother, Pamela, Lady Glenconner, was one of the aristocratic-bohemian Souls of the Edwardian era who conducted life at her Arts and Crafts manor near Salisbury, as a kind of Rousseauesque charade. Colin Christopher Paget Tennant (Lord Glenconner), landowner: born 1 December 1926; married 1956 Lady Anne Coke (one son, one daughter, and two sons deceased); died St Lucia 27 August 2010. It was an age when English aristocracy was diversifying to survive; and where the Baths of Longleat had their lions, Glenconner had his commodified paradise. She put them up in Kensington Palace when they were "homeless"; and, when they found a house, helped them move in. Les Jolies Eaux, a 10-bedroom, pale-green painted villa, turned out rather more costly than Glenconner had envisaged, at £25,000. Having recently watched Bullman's film, I almost turned down the offer. Caribbean Islands - Mustique -- not so great - We just got back from a week in Mustique, and came away unimpressed. Knight Frank is delighted to be affiliated with The Mustique Company and is the island's exclusive sole international real estate agent. Guest Services Bupa died in 1994 after being fed dry buns which swelled in its stomach. Tennant had given up on life in England, later putting his 19th-century mansion Hill Lodge on the market for £6m. Although he preferred the exploits of his maternal grandmother, Lady Muriel Paget, who during the Russian Revolution had had guns pointed at her, only to reply "Nonsense!" and push them away, Glenconner would maintain more than a little of the Tennants' mercurial, sometimes frustrating feyness in the character he created for himself. The vision of Glenconner barking imperious and impetuous commands to his hapless assistants encouraged reviewers to believe he represented an egregious example of feudal arrogance, if not near-lunacy. The Medical Clinic on the island is run by Dr Michael Bunbury. The Medical Clinic on the island is run by Dr Michael Bunbury. "No one lurches in drunk.". Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The day it arrived, Winston Kent Albert, a local, jumped on its back – and became the elephant's carer and Glenconner's right-hand man. The things we like in an island are … +1 784 488 8424, Sales & Reservations It was to Wilsford that his nephew Colin brought Princess Margaret for an audience with his eremitic uncle, only to be told by Stephen's butler that his master was seeing only blond-haired visitors. Pippa Ona Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The real heart of the man was his boyish charm and his ability to envelope you in his world. Toll Free +1 855 261 1316. ualified from Cambridge University and served as a Medical officer to the British Army for seven years. Mustique island, St Vincent and the Grenadines. He also extends his services to St Vincent, running HIV and Diabetic Clinics on behalf of our Charitable Foundation. The Prime Minister claimed on Wednesday that his accommodation on the luxury Caribbean island of Mustique, worth £15,000, was provided by Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross. In 1976, Tennant sold the Mustique Company, which he'd founded to build the island, to Mustique's homeowners, who became shareholders. entertainment; celebrity life; celebrity kids; This is the villa on the Caribbean island of Mustique where they celebrated George’s 6th birthday. Yet Glenconner would complain of her social tyranny, saying, "she hasn't got any real friends". Known for its white-sand beaches, the exclusive island of Mustique in the archipelago nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines is a favourite of … With his father's death in 1983 he became third Baron yet he felt obliged to disinherit his eldest son Charlie, a heroin addict, in favour of Henry – only for Henry, who was gay, to contract HIV, as did Charlie. He has spent the past 25 years running the island’s clinic, providing excellent health care to guests and the local community. Initial ambitions were to see it thrive as a cotton plantation, but these plans did not prove economically viable and Tennant looked for other ways to develop the island. Throughout the 1980s in particular it seemed as though Nigel Dempster had a hot line to Glenconner's bedside phone. Directed by Joseph Bullman. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He seemed more saddened by the memory of Bupa, his Indian elephant brought as an attraction for his restaurant. "It changed my life completely. In the unlikely event of an emergency, medical evacuation can be arranged and guests are taken to hospitals in either Martinique or Miami. Camillo Gonzalves, finance minister of St Vincent, explains  the unique relationship between Mustique Island and St Vincent & the Grenadines, and what makes it successful. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. "I said, 'yes', and she said, 'Does it include a house?' The company now runs the … Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to jet off to the private island of Mustique in the Caribbean with girlfriend Carrie Symonds for some winter sun. Intelligent, well-read, with impeccable manners, he was one of the most entertaining men I have met; I saw that he had inherited his uncle's winning, but perhaps dangerous, allure. In 1958 Lord Glenconner, Colin Tennant, arrived on Mustique and bought the island for just £45,000 despite the fact it had no roads, no jetties and no running water. Sat 28 Dec 2019 13.00 EST. Margaret was also in the throes of her desire to marry a commoner, Peter Townsend, and Glenconner was a useful diversion. In 1967, seeking refuge from the media and her own royal duties, she asked Glenconner if he had been serious about his wedding present. Mustique island is located in the St Vincent and the Grenadines country, the Lesser Antilles island arc, southeastern Caribbean Sea. Other parcels of land on what he now branded the Beau Estate were sold. But he had his jewel in the Princess's royal presence. ", Bang was popular with the passing cruise liner trade, although Glenconner would complain that no one interesting came, Yet he made a point of knowing their names, greeting every customer at the entrance to its surreal courtyard. Sarah Richardson, who owns the magnificent home where the Prime Minister stayed on Mustique, confirmed that she and her husband Craig had rented it out – and that they had ‘got paid’. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Speculation about their relationship seems part of the smokescreen. Tennant's attempt to run two-thirds of the Jalousie estate as a four-star resort failed after three seasons. In 1981 he bought the 480-acre Jalousie estate. A free-spirited, low-key island perfect for lounging in villas and strolling unmanicured beaches. With David Bowie, Joseph Bullman, Nicholas Courtney, Lady Glenconner. Worse yet, goats and cattle ran wild. In 1945 he served in the Irish Guards as a second lieutenant, joining because his aunt Clare had introduced him to the colonel-in-chief, who had greeted Colin from his bed, and "enlisted" him then and there. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Photograph: BlueOrangeStudio/Alamy Stock Photo. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. The things we like in an island are … Mustique is an entirely private island and has its own police force to keep its elite clientele away from prying eyes. sdurrant@mustique.vc Modern eyes would be opened to his more colourful aspects in The Man Who Bought Mustique, a film directed by Joseph Bullman in 2000, which followed Glenconner as he prepared for a visit by Princess Margaret to his island. He also extends his services to St Vincent, running HIV and Diabetic Clinics on behalf of our Charitable Foundation. According to Blow, the genetically frail nervous disposition of the Tennants resurfaced in its scion: shortly after the sale, Glenconner suffered a breakdown. While driving to Scotland, he felt himself "dissolving into gold dust", and a car had to be sent to collect him, Blow recorded (although he in turn would be accused by Colin's half-sister, the novelist Emma Tennant, of fancifying his family's history). The founding manager of the Mustique Company, the company which owns the island, was the late Hugo Money-Coutts, Baron Latymer, who was … The Mustique Company However, Glenconner denied that Bindon had produced his prodigious manhood for royal eyes; the flashing was done to one of her ladies-in-waiting, who merely commented, "I've seen bigger". Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. The island of Mustique is part of a set of islands making up the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, located in the Caribbean. The key to success was to attract the right people, and he knew them – pre-eminently in the shape of Princess Margaret. shelley@mustique.vc Mustique is a private island owned by the shareholders of The Mustique Company. These tragedies were invoked as "the Tennants' Curse". Lord Glenconner's background provided ample genetic precedence for his eccentricities. In 2018, William and Kate enjoyed a night out at Basil’s Bar, the famed watering hole on the island, where they partied alongside Mick Jagger, who owns a home there. Glenconner installed two early 20th-century gingerbread cottages salvaged from elsewhere on the island, joining them together and furnishing them with an eclectic mixture of family heirlooms and Indian antiques. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. He has spent the past 25 years running the island’s clinic, providing excellent health care to guests and the local community. And yet for all these fitful wonders he was an essentially honest and charming man in whose company one was often reduced to helpless laughter. On the northwestern edge of the island stand Messel’s earliest Mustique creations, Clonsilla and Phibblestown, named for villages in Ireland by … The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. I couldn't really say anything else, could I?" He has spent the past 25 years running the island’s clinic, providing excellent health care to guests and the local community. In 1971, Glenconner's wife Anne, the eldest daughter of the fifth earl of Leicester, whom he had married in 1956, became the Princess's lady-in-waiting. After Margaret's marriage to Lord Snowdon on 6 May 1960, the couple honeymooned in the Caribbean; Glenconner made them a wedding present of 10 acres of land on Mustique. pippa@mustique.vc Now, nearly a decade after Tennant died, one of his plush paradisiacal properties is being converted into a nail bar. He maintained an interest in politics and still referred to himself as a Liberal peer. Privately owned and wholly controlled by the Mustique Company, the island has perfect white beaches studded with huge pink shells and fringed by imported palm trees. The company oversees every aspect of island life as well as the management of the villas on behalf of the shareholders and the safeguarding of the island. Colin Tennant, the third Baron Glenconner, had a permanent place in the gossip columns for most of the second half of the 20th century, largely because of his intimate friendship with Princess Margaret; but also because of his Faustian compact with fame – or, perhaps, notoriety. The island is very safe for guests of all ages and vaccinations are not required. Michael qualified from Cambridge University and served as a Medical officer to the British Army for seven years. He paid $67,000 for an island without roads, running water, or electricity. In the late 1940s and early 1950s the Princess had ruled over "the Margaret Set", a new kind of royal for a post-war world, the Brideshead generation updated to an era of coffee bars and Teddy boys. . There the family had owned an estate in Trinidad which he had sold for £44,500 in 1958, and shortly after had bought Mustique for £45,000. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Glenconner fell easily into her circle: he was rich, good-looking and witty; an elegant dandy who once had a suit made without any pockets. I recall arriving in St Lucia, the island to which Glenconner had retreated after his Mustique dream had ended in acrimony, with some trepidation. Colin was born in 1926, and educated at Eton. In March 1999 she was staying at the Jalousie Hilton when she scalded her feet in a boiling shower, an accident which seemed to precipitate her decline. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Mustique has been a royal-approved getaway for decades, dating back to Princess Margaret's stays on the island in the 1970s, and it's little wonder why. Then in 1987 his youngest son Christopher was left partly paralysed by motorbike accident in Belize. Roddy Llewellyn, Princess Margaret, Lady Anne and her son Charlie, 1976 Credit: Courtesy of Lady Anne Glenconner My husband Colin Tennant was a … She went out twice a year, in February and late autumn, presiding over a social set which sometimes lurched into loucheness, with characters such as the East End-criminal-turned-actor John Bindon. The Caribbean island of Mustique was his bolthole after he bought the whole thing in 1958, giving Princess Margaret a ten-acre plot as a wedding present (where she built her holiday retreat, Les Jolies Eaux). 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