Château de Lauzun in France, which is on sale for £5.4m. Courtesy Savills
Château de Lauzun in France, which is on sale for £5.4m. Courtesy Savills
Château de Lauzun in France, which is on sale for £5.4m. Courtesy Savills
Château de Lauzun in France, which is on sale for £5.4m. Courtesy Savills

Wedded bliss in a royal French château


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have one - and now you can have your very own French château too.

Château de Lauzun, a rustic castle in the south-west of France, has actually played host to real royalty, not just the Hollywood variety.

The château was visited by Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France, and Catherine de Medici, the 16th-century queen, regent and mother of three kings of France. Now it is up for sale for £5.4 million (Dh29.4m) and it has a very unique feature.

"It's very unusual in that it is actually two châteaux put together," says Jelena Cvjetkovic, of the upmarket estate agency Savills. "They are adjacent but you could say there are two wings."

A five-bedroom medieval château, which has been extensively restored, dates from the 15th century and a second château was constructed in 1570 along the property's eastern perimeter. The so-called Renaissance château was designed to be a statement of the owner's power and wealth, according to Savills.

In addition to a great hall, the Renaissance château also features a king and duke's bedchambers, and two bedrooms which have been converted from a chapel.

The property also boasts a swimming pool and a large two-storey barn, which is currently being used to store classic cars.

"The vendor is also prepared to sell one of his vintage cars [a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce] by separate negotiation," says Ms Cvjetkovic, who suggests the château would be ideal for somebody looking to invest into a wedding venue.

"The main château hasn't got a huge number of bedrooms. You have a barn that you could renovate and get more bedrooms in but it's in a village, which means that there are places for guests potentially to stay," she says.

"A reception room means the venue could operate year-round, but a lawn at the front of the château could be used on a good day for the ceremony."

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Landfill in numbers

• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane

• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming

• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi

• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year

• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away

• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions