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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Charlotte Church admits she's 'no longer a millionaire' as she downgrades mansion

Charlotte Church has admitted she’s “not a millionaire anymore” and been forced to swap her mansion for a semi-detached.

The 38-year-old Welsh singer and former child prodigy - who was dubbed “Voice of an Angel” with her classical singing - had amassed a fortune of £25 million by the age of 11 before deciding to branch out into pop music.

In 2013, she bought The Spinney, a six-bedroom rural mansion in her native Wales for £1.3million, and started The Arwen Project, which is described as “a rural, educational, environmental project in Wales, offering experiential learning for mainly young people”.

The huge house, which featured on the TV show Dream Build, includes a park-sized garden, a piano room, a customised bookcase automatically opening to reveal a perfectly hidden lounge, and nature-inspired décor.

The mum-of-three also bought Rhydoldog House in Powys, turning it into a nature-based wellness retreat for women, putting £1.5million into the venture.

Now, more than two decades on, she has opened up in a new interview with Closer Magazine about her decision to sell The Spinney last month, which saw her make a £1million profit, and downgrade to a more modest abode.

The Crazy Chick hitmaker told the publication: "I am not a millionaire anymore. What mattered to me when I bought The Spinney is it was absolutely beautiful and close to the forest and it was a big mansion house.

"We had a school there for a bit and a studio. When it is used by the community, it makes sense, but when it is not used, it doesn’t. We want to be in the mainframe and be involved in life and what it feels like."

The mum-of-three was originally catapulted into the spotlight as a pre-teen after singing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Pie Jesu in 1997.

She went on to perform in front of countless high-profile figures, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II.

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