Billionaire Ambani family's divisive £57m UK party pad for wedding celebrations with Prince Harry
Despite four months of wedding celebrations from March to July, Anant Ambani and his wife Radhika Merchant still have parties planned in the UK.
The couple will supposedly host A-list stars such as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Harry at Stoke Park, a luxurious seven-star hotel and country club in Berkshire with a Grade I-listed Mansion House and a 27-hole championship golf course.
Anant's billionaire father Mukesh Ambani, who is chairman and managing director of Reliant Industries, purchased the 300-acre pad in 2021 for £57 million ($73 million) and has set out plans to completely overhaul the space. While this may make a wonderful backdrop for a wedding celebration, locals have expressed their concerns that their plans only have his family's personal use in mind.
Using a fraction of his estimated net worth of $116 billion (£89 billion), Mukesh plans to fix the leaking roof and cracks in the walls, stating on the website that "it is suffering from neglect and lack of investment."
It added: "It will require substantial funding to restore the lost fabric whilst upgrading the Mansion for modern requirements."
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Meanwhile, the golf course reportedly "does not match the spectacular setting and is not within the World’s top 200 Golf Courses."
They are considering "reopening the east gate and using the area currently used as the green keepers compound to house the new state-of-the-art clubhouse. This area was recently granted planning consent to provide 4 luxury villas."
Hotel controversy
The Ambanis have reportedly booked out the commercial property until September for their own use, raising concerns that it is being used as a private residence.
According to the Financial Times, Mukesh has clashed with the local council over the hotel's abrupt closure to the public.
This has been a concern since 2022 when another family wedding celebration saw the property close its doors. Stoke Park’s law firm, Withers, wrote a letter to the council insisting that Reliance Industries representatives and their families had occupied Stoke Park from "time to time", which was "consistent with the permitted hotel use." It stated: "There has been no private residential occupation."
High society wedding
Anant and Radhika's wedding, which was estimated to cost $600 million, hit the headlines on several occasions, starting with their three-day pre-wedding party in March 2024. This included a glasshouse dinner and Moulin Rouge-themed do at their palatial home and a performance by Rihanna.
They then invited 800 guests on a four-day European cruise with performances from The Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli along the way.
The couple had a traditional Hindu ceremony on 12 July followed by a 'shubh ashirwad' ceremony, and a 'mangal utsav' reception in Mumbai which was attended by 14,000 people.
High-profile guests such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and Kim Kardashian were among the guest list.
The bride stepped out in several striking outfits, including a hand-embroidered bridal lehenga by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla in traditional red and white colours, and a Dolce & Gabbana corset bodice covered in shimmering embellishments alongside a satin embroidered skirt.
We can only imagine any further celebrations in the UK would follow the same extravagance.
