Enjoy a romantic break surrounded by echoes of royal love
Bournemouth, Dorset
Opulent comfort and English grandeur, in a house that once bore royalty.
Today it's one of Bournemouth's most luxurious hotels. In 1881 it was home to one of British royalty's greatest scandals. The Red House, as Langtry was formerly known, was built in 1877 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) for his mistress, actress and socialite Lillie Langtry. It was, as it is now, a place lovers could be together away from prying eyes.
But all was not as it seemed, and Lillie's daughter Jeanne Marie, born in 1881, was in fact fathered by Prince Louis of Battenberg, the Prince's nephew. A bitter break-up followed. Today the Manor is still a regal affair, with vaulted ceilings and Shakespeare scenes on the walls.