No society event has managed to dominate headlines in recent months quite like the wedding of and . The couple came to everyone's when they threw a three-day pre-nuptial party attended by the likes of Karlie Kloss and Bill Gates, at which Rihanna performed; next, they invited 800 A-list friends aboard a luxury cruise liner for a jaunt from Palermo to Portofino. itself took place last weekend and it was a lavish, multi-day event in Jamnagar with no expense spared.
It involved gowns for the bride, 14,000 guests (including the Blairs, the Rothschilds and countless Bollywood celebrities) and over 60 floral animal sculptures, in an homage to Ambani's animal rescue sanctuary. Anyone in attendance might have thought such opulence would surely mark the end of the grand celebrations, which are rumoured to have cost over £500 million. On the contrary, the Ambanis are showing no signs of slowing down their partying.
The couple are said to be jetting over to England, and have block-booked the historic Stoke Park near Slough, , until September, to host yet more sumptuous events. Rumoured guests include and – but the neighbours are far from happy. Stoke Park, a grade II-listed, seven star hotel (which once featured in the James Bond film, ) is owned by Anant's father, Mukesh Ambani, who bought the 300-acre in 2021 for £57 million.
Shortly afterwards, the country estate expelled all 850 members from its prestigious golf club and shut its doors abruptly for renovations. Since then, Ambani senior , according to the . Some have questioned whether the family is upholding the terms of the estate's leasehold, which makes clear that it must be used as a commercial property, rather than a private residence.
The fact that the hotel has remained closed to the , while still remaining open for the Ambani family, has caused friction in the community. An celebration for a relative was hosted at the property in 2022, and Merchant posed inside the baroque walls of the mansion for pre-wedding portraits. It's easy to see why many former club members worry that the Ambani family may not have a real intention of running a country club, but instead may plan to use Stoke Park as a drop-in UK base.
In December 2022, Stoke Park’s law firm, , attempted to put paid to these murmurings, telling the council in that ‘representatives’ of Reliance, Mukesh Ambani's firm, had ‘together with their families, from time to time’ occupied Stoke Park to develop the renovation plans. This was ‘consistent with the permitted hotel use,’ added the letter. However, planning permission papers from 2023 – which show an application to remove the communal club dressing rooms and instead install a large-scale kitchen – have led many to take these claims with a pinch of salt.
Unauthorised changes to the estate have also been a cause for concern. A wrought-iron gate with gilded finials has been erected close to the mansion, while new tarmac buggy paths have appeared, connecting Stoke Park to two, neighbouring houses, bought by Reliance in 2022. Other additions included a stable for horses, an aviary with parrots, and a peacock enclosure.
Eyebrows have been raised by local authorities, with Thomas Hogg, a Conservative councillor, commenting on a general ‘sense of doubt’ in the community about what the Ambanis ‘are really planning for the property’. For the next few months, it would appear those plans are centred very much on Anant and Radhika, who their tight yet powerful circle at exclusive locales, from 5 Hertford Street and Oswald's, to the flashy Annabel's. It looks as if the newlyweds will have little reason to visit London's private members' clubs during their stint in the UK this time, however – after all, who needs when you have a whole hotel at your disposal?.
