Château de la Croë

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de la Croë is a 2,000 m² neoclassical-style villa built in 1927 on the Cap d'Antibes, on the French Riviera. It was designed by the architect Armand-Albert Rateau for Sir Pomeroy Burton, general manager of the British newspaper group Associated Newspapers. Its rear façade, overlooking the courtyard, is strongly inspired by the Château de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, which served as Rateau's model. From 1938 to 1949, the Château de la Croë was rented by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, shortly after the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. The couple left in June 1940 during the German invasion, before returning in 1946 and having major works carried out. Winston and Clementine Churchill celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary there in 1948. The estate then belonged in turn to two Greek shipowners, Aristotle Onassis (1950-1957) and then Stavros Niarchos, each of whom acquired it for his wife — Athina and Eugenia Livanos respectively, who were sisters. The Russian businessman Roman Abramovich bought the property in 2001 and had extensive renovation work undertaken from 2004 onwards. In April 2022, the château was seized by the French authorities as part of the European sanctions targeting those close to the Russian government, following the invasion of Ukraine.