Mustique is a picturesque and secluded 1,400 acre island surrounded by nine beaches of pure white sand, with gently swaying coconut palms and warm turquoise waters. "I said, 'yes', and she said, 'Does it include a house?' "One of the great tragedies of my life," Colin said as he showed me her tusks. pippa@mustique.vc You are in safe hands when on Mustique. Glen and its 9,000 acre estate, which his father Christopher had made over to him in 1963, and which he had used fitfully in the 1960s and 1970s, had lost its sense of being a family home and would later be run as a business. 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. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. In the 2018 BBC documentary The Rebel Royal Basil Charles, former owner of Basil’s Bar on Mustique, remembered Margaret as “a trailblazer . Yet Glenconner would complain of her social tyranny, saying, "she hasn't got any real friends". Set on the bay between the Pitons, it was a great chunk of Eden, sloping down to the palm-fringed beach and back up into hills lush with avocado trees. Tennant had given up on life in England, later putting his 19th-century mansion Hill Lodge on the market for £6m. A prime example: Mick Jagger, who owns a six-bedroom and five-bathroom beachfront compound on the pristine and private West Indies island of … Mustique island, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Medical Clinic on the island is run by Dr Michael Bunbury. It was Snowdon's first and last visit to the island, and Tennant saw little of Margaret until her marriage began to disintegrate. He maintained an interest in politics and still referred to himself as a Liberal peer. 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 pair were seen together constantly: he claimed to have been the first to take her out shopping by walking along Bond Street. But he had his jewel in the Princess's royal presence. Worse yet, goats and cattle ran wild. Colin was born in 1926, and educated at Eton. A free-spirited, low-key island perfect for lounging in villas and strolling unmanicured beaches. These tragedies were invoked as "the Tennants' Curse". He has spent the past 25 years running the island’s clinic, providing excellent health care to guests and the local community. The things we like in an island are … Caribbean Islands - Mustique -- not so great - We just got back from a week in Mustique, and came away unimpressed. 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. 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. "No one lurches in drunk.". +44 207 201 6831, Sales & Reservations 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. 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. 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. 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 … Then in 1987 his youngest son Christopher was left partly paralysed by motorbike accident in Belize. 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). Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Knight Frank is delighted to be affiliated with The Mustique Company and is the island's exclusive sole international real estate agent. Guest Services Shelley McLaughlin Glenconner left for the Caribbean. Photograph: BlueOrangeStudio/Alamy Stock Photo. T he day of his victory, the prime minister reached out to … I couldn't really say anything else, could I?" The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. With David Bowie, Joseph Bullman, Nicholas Courtney, Lady Glenconner. He also extends his services to St Vincent, running HIV and Diabetic Clinics on behalf of our Charitable Foundation. The island is very safe for guests of all ages and vaccinations are not required. The Medical Clinic on the island is run by Dr Michael Bunbury. Directed by Joseph Bullman. +1 784 488 8424, Sales & Reservations The founding manager of the Mustique Company, the company which owns the island, was the late Hugo Money-Coutts, Baron Latymer, who was … In 1958, Colin Tennant (now Lord Glenconner) bought Mustique, which forms part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, for just £45,000 from the Hazell family of St Vincent. Tennant's attempt to run two-thirds of the Jalousie estate as a four-star resort failed after three seasons. Macaroni Beach is perhaps the most famous of Mustique's beaches and is situated on the east coast of the island. 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!" 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. On the northwestern edge of the island stand Messel’s earliest Mustique creations, Clonsilla and Phibblestown, named for villages in Ireland by … The Mustique Company, the island’s management company with over 756 resident staff, is led by Managing Director, Roger Pritchard. 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. 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.". Six years later Charles died, aged 39. 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. 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. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. a little bit of a rebel. Given to extravagant gestures – for his 60th birthday party in 1986, the likes of Jerry Hall, Raquel Welch and Princess Margaret flew to Mustique at his expense for a Peacock Ball – he was seldom out of the limelight. The Royal family have been regular visitors to the island; this is the seventh time Will and Kate have … Mustique island is located in the St Vincent and the Grenadines country, the Lesser Antilles island arc, southeastern Caribbean Sea. sdurrant@mustique.vc Camillo Gonzalves, finance minister of St Vincent, explains  the unique relationship between Mustique Island and St Vincent & the Grenadines, and what makes it successful. The Mustique Company 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. Watch the video to hear more about the history of the island and how it contributes to the region. 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. The point about Glenconner was not his eccentricity; they were just as much projected images as the performing host at Bang. 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. Now, nearly a decade after Tennant died, one of his plush paradisiacal properties is being converted into a nail bar. Margaret was also in the throes of her desire to marry a commoner, Peter Townsend, and Glenconner was a useful diversion. 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. 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. Speculation about their relationship seems part of the smokescreen. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? A former sugar plantation, it had been found by his son Henry. He was interested in modern art and literature, and could drop into conversation that his grandson's godfather was Guy Ritchie. There is an island pharmacy but we do advise guests to travel with essential medication. Lord Glenconner, a Scot, once owned Mustique, a verdant island in the Caribbean. Mustique is a private island owned by the shareholders of The Mustique Company. Lord Glenconner's background provided ample genetic precedence for his eccentricities. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Lord Glenconner: Owner of the island of Mustique whose friendship with, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. A few months after the film aired, I was sent on assignment to interview Glenconner for an article commissioned by Tina Brown for her magazine, Talk. 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. 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. Mustique is an entirely private island and has its own police force to keep its elite clientele away from prying eyes. It all started with Colin Tennant, the 3rd Lord Glenconner, who purchased the undeveloped island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 1958. 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. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. shelley@mustique.vc 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. 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’. Margaret would visit, staying in a hillside villa Glenconner found for her. I recall arriving in St Lucia, the island to which Glenconner had retreated after his Mustique dream had ended in acrimony, with some trepidation. Throughout the 1980s in particular it seemed as though Nigel Dempster had a hot line to Glenconner's bedside phone. 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. He has spent the past 25 years running the island’s clinic, providing excellent health care to guests and the local community. 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. Lord Glenconner: Owner of the island of Mustique whose friendship with Princess Margaret kept him in the public eye Other parcels of land on what he now branded the Beau Estate were sold. In 1995 he sold the resort to the Hilton chain, much to the displeasure of environmentalists and Prince Philip, who twice wrote to St Lucia's prime minister asking for the scheme to be halted. Eventually, Tennant made significant improvements to the island. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. 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. In the unlikely event of an emergency, medical evacuation can be arranged and guests are taken to hospitals in either Martinique or Miami. "It changed my life completely. Like his uncle Stephen, he never seemed to have grown up – or, at least, accepted the banalities of modern existence. In … 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. She put them up in Kensington Palace when they were "homeless"; and, when they found a house, helped them move in. The company now runs the … 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. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. I said, 'Yes'. He also extends his services to St Vincent, running HIV and Diabetic Clinics on behalf of our Charitable Foundation. Mustique is unlike any other Caribbean island. Having frittered away most of his fortune, Scottish brewing heir Colin Tennant Colin Tennant, now Lord Glenconner, purchased the … ", 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. Michael qualified from Cambridge University and served as a Medical officer to the British Army for seven years. "No one says anything interesting or witty anymore," he complained. It is a private island, owned by the Mustique company, stretches across 2.2 square miles, and has a population of 500. 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). 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. Your Guide to Mustique, the Private Caribbean Island Where You Can Stay in David Bowie's Former Villa. 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. Michael qualified from Cambridge University and served as a Medical officer to the British Army for seven years. Tall, thin, clad in white shalwar kameez, a battered straw hat and all-terrain sandals, Lord Glenconner resembled a character out of Evelyn Waugh via Hello! Rocky headlands, pristine beaches surrounded by palm trees, clear, turquoise water and steep hilltops are all you can see. 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. 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. Named after its giant mosquitoes, the island was three and a half miles long, and Glenconner set about developing it as a deluxe resort. . Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. 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