The Prince of Wales made an “unwelcome” bid to influence Britain’s most expensive housing project, a High Court judge said today.
Mr Justice Vos said Prince Charles had put the Qatari royal family and property tycoon Christian Candy in “a very difficult position” after criticising the modernist design architects had planned for Chelsea Barracks.
His comments came at the conclusion of a two-year legal battle over the collapse of the £3 billion development in central London.
Today Mr Candy won his claim against the Qatari royal family, who were found in breach of contract for dropping the scheme after lobbying by Charles. But the developer has not received a penny in damages and must still pursue his claim for £68.5 million compensation.
The judge declined to order the Middle Eastern royals to pay Surrey-born millionaire Mr Candy, who is behind some of London’s most controversial property schemes.
He left open the door for a new round in the long-running legal battle next month as Mr Candy fights on to claim what he believes are his lost millions, as well as spiralling legal costs.
The two-year tussle between the developers was triggered when Qatari Diar, the ruling family’s investment arm, withdrew modernist plans for the Chelsea Barracks site in the face of opposition from Charles.
The Prince of Wales wrote an emotional letter to the Qatari prime minister attacking the “brutalist” design by architect Lord Rogers. He then personally voiced his opposition to the scheme to the emir, the “absolute ruler” of Qatar, over tea at Clarence House in May last year.
The move sparked panic in Qatar, and the design for the 12.8-acre barracks site was dropped the next month.
Mr Candy then sued Qatari Diar, claiming breach of contract.
Today, Mr Justice Vos said the Prince’s intervention in the planning process was “no doubt unexpected and unwelcome”.
In today’s ruling he said the Prince of Wales had put Qatari Diar and CPC in “a very difficult position through his intervention”. He added: “The effects were, I suspect, exacerbated by the inevitable publicity which followed and by the continuing economic malaise affecting the market for upscale developments like Chelsea Barracks.”
The judge also criticised the head of Qatari Diar, Ghanem Al-Saad, who gave evidence in court, as a “not completely reliable witness”.
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