Inside A Historic Welsh Estate Visited By Royals And Supermodels

Where most newly-weds may opt to go to Paris or the Maldives on their honeymoon escape, the options become a bit more limited when you’re the Queen. Following a brief stint at the Broadlands in Hampshire, the home of Lord Mountbatten – Queen Elizabeth II’s second cousin once removed and Prince Philip’s uncle, yikes – and short stay at Birkhall on their beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland, it was back on the road and off on their royal tour of the country.

One of the stops on their so-called ‘honeymoon tour’ (two years after their 1947 wedding) was in the Harlech region of North Wales, where the royal pair stayed over at the historic Glyn Cywarch house. 

Discover The Secrets Of Glyn Cywarch

Located in Snowdonia National Park, hidden in a secluded valley at the heart of Eryri, this Grade II* listed Jacobean estate was first built in 1616. Welsh for ‘valley of hemp’, the area once produced rope for the ships which came into the major nearby trading port of Porthmadog. 

Currently serving as the ancestral home of the Ormsby-Gores, these Anglo-Irish aristocrats have made some pretty shocking headlines over the decades – so much so that in the 60s, the 5th Baron Harlech, David Ormsby-Gore, and his brood of unruly children (Julian, Jane, Victoria, Alice, and Francis) were branded the ‘Harlech Hippies’ by the press.

David himself is best remembered as a key diplomat during the Kennedy era – that was, at least, after he tried and failed to successfully propose to Jackie. Thankfully, it seems that JFK either didn’t know or didn’t care. As a British ambassador for the US during Kennedy’s election, the two became close friends – with photos of the pair and Jackie found across Glyn Cywarch.

Despite his career success, David’s family soon became shrouded in tragedy: his wife Sylvia died in a car crash, his daughter Alice entered a drug-fuelled relationship with musician Eric Clapton and later died from an overdose while living in poverty, and his son and heir Julian died from suicide before he was ever able to inherit the estate. 

Much like their family name, the family seat soon started to deteriorate with it. In 2016 when Francis Ormsby-Gore, the sixth Baron Harlech, died, the house passed on to his son and heir Jasset Harlech. Describing the state of the house to Vogue in 2023, Francis’s wife Amanda Harlech wrote: ‘There had been fire damage, water damage, ivy growing inside – you name it. I suppose you could say there was something wildly romantic about all that, but it was a Grade II* listed building, teetering on the edge of ruin.’

Thankfully, Jasset seems to be taking the responsibility of restoring the place very seriously. ‘Glyn Cywarch is an extraordinary home, not only for its architectural beauty but for the weight of history it carries,’ he says. After inheriting the home, he even put his career in film production on hold to concentrate on the restoration.

And thankfully he had the perfect team on hand in the form of his mother Amanda – creative consultant, stylist, writer, muse to John Galliano, and close friend and inspiration to Karl Lagerfeld – and sister Tallulah, who is following in her mother’s footsteps as a fashion stylist and consultant. Last decorated in the 70s by David and his print-loving second wife Pamela, Amanda and Tallulah have been on a mission to expunge the home of chintz and return it to its Jacobean glory days.

In order to fund the restoration, a treasure trove of family possessions were auctioned off in 2017 – including the letters which revealed David’s proposal to Jackie Kennedy. Carried out over a period of seven years, the restoration of Glyn Cywarch – with its use of traditional building techniques and materials – eventually won the Historic Houses Restoration Award in 2024.

From the stone facade and mullioned windows draped in ivy out front, to the original oak panelling, grand staircases and carved fireplaces inside, many of the home’s original details remain. ‘I love the Poet’s Room, where Ellis Wynne once wrote and, we believe, drew the dragons and flora on the walls,’ Amanda noted in Vogue. Paired with contemporary finishes and appliances, Glyn Cywarch now combines period charm with a luxuriously modern feel. Other standout features of the 11-bedroom estate include the Elizabethan Room (where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip slept over on their tour), the yellow ‘Coronet Room’, and a top floor yoga room.

The restoration work also extended out to grounds, where formal lawns, walled gardens and rose borders are interspersed with wildflower meadows and apple orchards. Beyond the gardens lie a further 100 acres of private estate, with woodland paths and open countryside offering views of the north Wales coastline and surrounding hills. Nearby sits Harlech Beach, Harlech Castle, the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales and the Italianesque village of Portmeirion.

Amidst the tragedy and the headlines, it seems that the family made many happy memories at Glyn Cywarch. Each summer they would migrate from their family home in Shropshire to Glyn for holidays sparkling with famous photographers in which supermodels such as Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista could be found modelling for shoots on the grounds. Amanda recalls how friends would bring their children, and the families would picnic at the waterfalls or ride their horses down to the estuary at low tide to gallop on the beach. For Tallulah, Glyn Cywarch, has always been a ‘magical’ place. She explains: ‘Maybe it’s in the air, I don’t know, but there is something that people feel when they’re at Glyn. It’s always quite an incredible moment of being able to share that with someone.’

While Glyn Cywarch has most recently been available for private bookings, events and short stays, the owners are now on the hunt for a long-term tenant. With a 12 month minimum term contract, the house will be available at a cost of £5,000 pcm plus initial deposit.

Find out more at carterjonas.co.uk