Britain's richest street: The place by the palace, where the average house price is £19.5m
By ARTHUR MARTIN and JAMES MCMEEKIN The figure is 93 times the national average house price of £205,985. Even a single square foot of land in the street would cost you £1,193.They are beyond the reach of mere mortals. In fact, the homes in Kensington Palace Gardens would be too pricey even for many celebrities, bankers and lottery winners.A string of eye-watering property deals has helped to turn it into Britain’s most expensive street.The average price of a mansion in the affluent road in Kensington, West London, is an astonishing £19.2million, according to a study by property company Zoopla. Britain’s richest man Lakshmi Mittal, a steel magnate worth £23.8billion, bought one of the houses for £57million from the Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004, and renamed it Taj Mittal.Since then he has bought another home on an adjoining street for a record £117million from hedge fund tycoon Noam Gottesman. Pricey: The Boltons in Kensington is among the most expensive streets it the UK. Just a single square foot of land in the London borough now costs £1,193 Residents of Kensington Palace Gardens also include Jon Hunt, who founded Foxtons estate agency which he sold for £390million in 2007. An extraordinary subterranean playground is being built which will house a tennis court, health centre and a private motor museum for his six vintage Ferraris. Keeping up with the Joneses: Nigella Lawson and Madonna are just two famous faces who call the borough of Kensington homeThe property tycoon is thought to have rejected an offer of £200million for his eight-bedroom home from Mr Mittal’s son Aditya in 2008.One of his even wealthier neighbours, Russian oligarch Leonid Blavatnik, is also building a massive underground extension for a swimming pool, gym and private cinema.Mr Blavatnik, who has made at least £4.7billion in the oil business, outbid Mr Mittal and Roman Abramovich in 2004 with an offer of £41million for the 15-bedroom property.The street’s allure is helped by Kensington Palace, set back from the road on the eastern side. The former home of Princess Diana is still the residence of several minor royals. Both ends of the street are manned by armed Diplomatic Protection Group officers because it houses several embassies, including those of Israel and Russia.As prices in the street soared in the past decade the makers of Monopoly chose it as the top square on the board ahead of Mayfair. The second most expensive street is The Boltons, Kensington, where the average house is £13.3million, with Frognal Way, Camden, third at £10.6million. In fact the top ten expensive streets are all in London.Virginia Water in Surrey - home to Wentworth Golf Club - is the seventh most expensive postal district in the country, with an average house price of £937,419.The survey found 5,922 streets nationwide where the average home is more than £1million. Of these, 2,290 are in London, followed by 89 in Guildford and 78 in Cobham, both in Surrey.Nick Leeming, from Zoopla.co.uk, said: 'Our study has found an enormous gulf between prices at the lowest and highest ends of the property market.'A home in Britain's most exclusive street is beyond the wildest dreams of all but an extremely wealthy elite.'At a whopping £19.2million, even National Lottery winners would now struggle to afford a house on Billionaire's Row.'Those who aspire to live in a wealthy area, surrounded by celebrities, will also need a reality check. Fashionable: Commuter hotspot Guildford, in Surrey, boasts 89 'million pound streets' - the second highest in the country Footballers' wives territory: Cobham has the third highest number of 'million pound streets' in the country'With a single square foot of land in Kensington costing £1,193, it is well out of the price range of your typical British homeowner.'People have always been obsessed with the value of their home as well as those of neighbours, friends and family.'Our rich list will give those who live on streets near the top of the list some serious bragging rights.' source: dailymail
A rare and beautiful sight: A spectacular end to a sunny Memorial Day
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Urban phenomenon: The sun shines down on 42nd Street at the end of Memorial Day during the biannual occurrence coined 'Manhattanhenge' by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse TysonOne of the most beautiful things in nature must surely be the sun rising and setting.When that sunset happens to align with a street grid, basking a city that never sleeps in a radiant glow of light, even busy New Yorkers would be pushed not to stop and marvel at its brilliance.It's that time of year again known as 'Manhattanhenge' - when the sun aligns precisely with the street grid in Manhattan, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough's grid.
Pussycat Nicole Scherzinger shows a softer side as she hugs fans... after getting her claws into Cheryl Cole's X Factor job
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Me, ruthless? Nicole Scherzinger, who is set to replace Cheryl Cole as a judge on the U.S. X Factor, puts on an affectionate show with fans outside her hotel in Paris, France, today Nicole Scherzinger has struggled to wipe the smug grin off her face since managing to snare Cheryl Cole's U.S. X Factor job last week.But perhaps the Machiavellian singer, who has been promoted from co-host to judge in the wake of Cole's sacking, was attempting to show a softer side today as she put on an affectionate display with fans.The former Pussycat Doll put on her best smile as she greeted a small crowd of young supporters, who were waiting for her outside her hotel in Paris, France. Check me out: The singer showed off her toned figure in a form-fitting beige dress and thigh-skimming animal print bots The 32-year-old star look perfectly groomed in a form-fitting asymmetrical beige dress, teamed with thigh-skimming animal print boots.Of course, Nicole is no stranger to ruffling feathers.Back in 2009 the Pussycat Dolls, of which she was the frontwoman, imploded amid reports of infighting and jealously.The other girls were said to be bitter about Scherzinger's rising profile - while all they got to do was be her backing dancers.Nicole has since admitted she has not remained in touch with her former gal pals - Carmit Bachar, Melody Thornton, Jessica Sutta, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt.She is now focused on her solo career and, of course, the U.S. X Factor and the exposure it will give her. Moving on up: Nicole pictured last month with Cole (R), Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, LA Ried and Steve Jones (L) Last December, Scherzinger coolly glossed the acrimony between herself and other members of the Pussycat Dolls, merely saying rows were 'inevitable'.Nicole flew to Europe a few days ago to support her motor racing driver boyfriend in the Monaco Grand Prix. Queen bee: As the former frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls, Nicole isn't used to taking second placesource: dailymail
Don't you know who I am? Corrie's Helen Flanagan refused entry into Scott's Swansea match... despite being a WAG
By DAILY MAIL REPORTERBut I'm a WAG! Helen Flanagan argues with Wembley senior safety supervisors to try and be let back into the Swansea football match Helen Flanagan might be a premiership WAG now, but staff supervisors at Wembley didn’t recognise the Coronation Street star at her boyfriend’s match yesterday.The 20-year-old actress went to watch Scott Sinclair play for Swansea in yesterday’s play off against Reading, but was refused entry into the stadium.
How not to look classy! TOWIE's Lydia Bright wears Kate's dress but looks less than stylish
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Not classy! Lydia Bright tried to recreate the same ensemble as Kate today, she did not quite pull off the lookCatherine the Duchess of Cambridge turned heads in her £175 beige Reiss dress last week but when Lydia Bright tried to recreate the same ensemble today, she did not quite pull off the look.The Only Way Is Essex star was spotted strutting into a London office with a Selfridges bag in tow, wearing the same high street dress as Kate.But instead of displaying a classic royal style, Lydia’s ill-fitting dress was not flattering and the Essex girl even had VPL. Just like Kate, she also paired the above-the-knee number with black heels but Lydia’s clunky shoes were anything but dainty. At least the handbag's different! Lydia wears the same Reiss dress and black heels like Kate but carries a different bag The camel-coloured ‘Shola’ design is from one of the Duchess’s favourite brands and she wore the Reiss frock to meet Barack and Michelle Obama during their UK visit last week.After the new bride showed off her impeccable figure in the design, the fashion chain’s website crashed and the dress sold out within 24 hours. VPL: Lydia was displaying visible panty line through the dress as we caught a glimpse of her underwearObviously Lydia was one of the women to flock to the site to quickly grab herself the same dress.After the mania, it was advertised on eBay for £600 and a £30 copy is being prepared by Tesco.Reiss then announced that the dress will be re-released in five to six weeks to cater for the demand. Special occasion: Kate wore her Reiss dress last week while meeting Michelle Obama (right) and President ObamaBut after more investigation into the British fashion chain, it was found that the original Reiss dress was manufactured by women paid only 99p an hour in a poor suburb of Romania’s capital.It was produced for less than £15 by seamstresses earning significantly less than the average salary for textile workers in the Eastern European nation.The 170 employees of clothing firm Rimcor Ex work in a factory which resembles an industrial compound with bars on the windows, 8ft walls and solid metal fences. Red carpet glamour: Lydia looking lovely at the Bafta TV Awards with on/off boyfriend James Argent But the average high street shopper is no doubt blissfully unaware of how their favourite dresses find their way onto the shelves.Lydia Bright was back in London after her recent trip to Marbella, Spain, with the rest of her cast-mates from The Only Way Is Essex.And despite her underwear being on show through the ill-fitting dress, her holiday tan did suit the beige frock nicely. source: dailymail
Modern Princesses from Old Fairy Tales
The beautiful princesses in these photos are from another time. A time of fairy tales; When handsome princes, dragons, and monsters ruled the world. But it is the sexy princesses who steal the show and win our hearts.10. Pocahontas9. Belle8. Princess Jasmine7. Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf6. Princess Ariel, the Little Marmaid5. Cinderella4. Snow White3. Jessica Rabbit2. Rapunzel1. Alice's Adventures in WonderlandBonus pictures:Jasmine from Disney's Aladin
