So will it be the £6.2million seven-bedroom villa, a favourite of Zara Phillips and Bill Gates? Or will it be the bargain basement £3.5m pad with the cactus garden near the cricket club? And when will the kids be dropping in?They’re never short of things to gossip about in Mustique. And right now, this famously exclusive little corner of the West Indies is positively buzzing. From Basil’s Bar to every oligarch’s poolside, there is just one topic of cocktail-fuelled conversation: the Middletons.
Long before April’s Royal Wedding, Michael and Carole Middleton had been such regular visitors that they were fast becoming a fixture on this 1,400-acre Caribbean island. So much so that several prominent islanders — including Basil Charles of the eponymous bar — received invitations to Westminster Abbey. But now, the bond may be about to become more permanent. The Middletons, it is said, are looking to buy a holiday home on an island where their daughter, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband, the future King, have already enjoyed a carefree holiday.
And just last week, Carole and Pippa Middleton were back at their royal wedding base, London’s Goring Hotel, where a lifesize replica of Basil’s Bar had been erected for a Mustique-themed party. If the Middletons should buy their own chunk of the island, it’s reasonable to assume the younger generation will become more frequent visitors, too. After all, this is a place where Prince William felt sufficiently relaxed to give Basil’s regulars a barefoot karaoke rendition of Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds a few years ago.
And when it comes to privacy, Mustique is right up there with North Korea. The island authorities have a very straightforward policy towards the paparazzi: deportation. The island boasts two hotels, but only 110 houses — many of which are let for tens of thousands of pounds in peak season. Regular visitors include Jemima Khan, Liz Hurley and fashion designer Anya Hindmarch.
During several trips over the past few years, the Middletons have forged friendships with a number of other island regulars, including hedge-fund boss Mark Cecil and his wife Katie; Roger Pritchard, who is head of the Mustique Company; tennis coach Richard Shaffer; equestrian manager Liz Saint and the island doctor, Michael Bunbury — all of whom received invitations to the royal wedding.
