Chateau de la Croe is perhaps the most storied private estate on Cap d'Antibes, its history intertwined with royalty, shipping magnates, and modern oligarchs. The classical-style chateau was designed by the distinguished French architect and decorator Armand-Albert Rateau and completed in 1927 for Sir William Pomeroy Burton, general manager of Associated Newspapers. Set within eight hectares of grounds extending to the sea, its architecture evokes the grandeur of an English country house transplanted to the Mediterranean.
The chateau gained worldwide fame when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor leased it in May 1938, following Edward VIII's abdication from the British throne. For over a decade, it became one of the most glamorous addresses in Europe, hosting receptions for royalty and the political elite including Winston Churchill. When the Germans invaded France in 1940, the Windsors departed for Spain, eventually leaving when their lease expired in 1949.
After the Windsors, the property passed through the hands of two Greek shipping kings: Aristotle Onassis purchased it in 1950, followed by his brother-in-law Stavros Niarchos in 1957. A devastating fire in 1970 left the chateau in ruins for decades. In 2001, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich acquired the estate and reportedly spent over 30 million euros on a meticulous restoration completed in 2008, bringing it back to its former splendor.