Princess Margarets famous country cottage lists for millions in genuinely rare moment

The former home of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, better known as Lord Snowdon’s former country retreat, is on the market for the first time in the home’s history.Known as The Old House, the home, which was gifted to Lord Snowdon by his uncle, designer Oliver Messel, prior to his marriage to Princess Margaret, is listed with Blue Book Agency for about $5.3 million.Originally built in 1481, the cottage in West Sussex came into the possession of the Messel family in 1890 and was passed down for generations before Oliver gifted it to the royal couple.Upon receiving the 5,750-square-foot home on the 5.52-acre property, Lord Snowdon transformed the dilapidated home into a private retreat away from the public, often hosting many famous faces, including actor Peter Sellers, ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, Bianca Jagger, financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and more.“What Lord Snowdon created here was not simply a private home but an extraordinary creative retreat,” Theo James-Wright, director at Blue Book Agency, said.“This was a place where royalty mixed with artists, actors, writers and designers, where some of the most influential figures of the 20th century gathered behind closed doors.

Very few houses can genuinely claim to have witnessed such a remarkable chapter of British cultural history.”The rich history surrounding this house inspired an episode in season three of the popular Netflix series, “The Crown.”Some of the elements Snowdon brought to the home include a redesigned kitchen, a balcony salvaged from Ascot Racecourse’s Royal Box during refurbishment works, a lake he created and a “time capsule of royal, cultural and family life” made up of newspaper clippings detailing royal scandals and major events, put together by Snowdon himself.The estate features a main house with six bedrooms, as well as a pool house which can be used as a guest suite.In addition, the grounds include a garden office, library, tractor shed and oth...