The starlet who rose to fame at the age of 11 spent her teenage years performing in prestigious concert halls – and amassed a fortune of £25m in the process.
But singer Charlotte Church is now facing “breakdown” after her dream of turning a £1.5m 16th century mansion into a hippie health haven hit a snag.
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The 36-year-old has poured almost all of her life savings into an environmental project at Rhydoldog House in Powys, Central Wales – the 47-acre former home of Laura Ashley – which she had hoped to open in June.
But Charlotte allegedly faced a backlash from Welsh environmental dignitaries over her plans to dispose of waste in her forest log cabins, and withdrew her planning application, according to reports. daily Mail.
In a documentary series flying on the wall earlier this year, titled Dream Build, Charlotte said that not opening part of the resort in the summer would leave her “bankrupt.”
So where did her multi-million pound fortune go?
Jeweled convertible bra
It was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s operatic singing Pie Jesu on This Morning, the 11-year-old that propelled Charlotte to sell more than 10 million records.
Charlotte hit millions at the age of 18 – having made a fortune from her six years performing around the world and before President Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, the late Queen and King Charles.
In a 2004 BBC interview, when Charlotte was 18, she vowed not to get carried away by her vast fortune – which her mother said was around £7 million.
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But the singer also claimed to be looking forward to some lavish purchases including a convertible Mini Cooper.
Charlotte also told reporters that she was eager to buy a £1 million ruby-encrusted bra for her 18th birthday.
While it is not known if she purchased the jeweled item, her parents kept the floor with modest birthday gifts including a CD player and some clothes and jewelry.
£10,000 holiday for girls
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In the same year, the singer enjoyed romantic trips to Dubai and the Maldives with her then-boyfriend Kyle Johnson.
She also took a group of girlfriends away on a week-long vacation in Ibiza.
Welcome! The magazine reported that she spent more than £10,000 on a trip to the Spanish party capital where she and her friends enjoyed the nightlife into the early hours.
During the trip, Charlotte didn’t hold back – she paid for a private villa for them all to stay in and a full-time personal chauffeur to take them around.
She said at the time, “I’m just here on a girls’ vacation, and I’m having a really good time.”
A source told The Sun Charlotte was “very generous” during the holiday and will buy all the drinks when friends go out.
In the years that followed, she was captured sipping champagne and on several occasions seemed to fall asleep in bars.
mansions and yachts
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A year later in 2005, while dating a former Welsh rugby star Gavin HensonCharlotte bought a house in Cardiff for around £500,000, which she later sold for £900,000.
The couple then bought a palatial mansion on 20 acres of land in the Vale of Glamorgan – now worth £2.5 million.
Charlotte and Gavin, who split in 2010, had a bar at the bottom of their garden where they indulged in drinking sessions, according to the Daily Mail.
They were nicknamed ‘Posh and Becks’ for rugby and at one point owned a £800,000 yacht, which was moored at Swansea Marina.
In 2013, Charlotte bought her former five-bedroom home so he could live near their children, Ruby and Dexter, Wells Online reported.
Lifestyle Finance
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After performing for Presidents and Kings, Charlotte appeared to have a mid-career dip in 2014.
The Sunday Times Rich List reported that her fortune had fallen to £11 million that year.
In the documentary Charlotte Church: In Her Own Voice, she makes clear her concerns about criticism.
She said, “I will work for the rest of my life, not because I want to but because I have to.
“The tax man looks at my accounts and wonders where I’m hiding all my money.”
However, during an interview with Stylist, Charlotte claimed that it was her spending that meant she was constantly in need of graft.
She said, “I don’t have much money. I have enough to feel comfortable if I am sane for the rest of my life.”
“But I’m not sane, so I have to find a way to maintain my lifestyle.”
TV work, advertisements and books
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Charlotte’s last album Back To Scratch was released in 2010. Since then she has diversified her sources of income through her TV appearances.
She starred on The Charlotte Church Show, which aired on Channel 4 from 2006 for two years, and has starred in TV shows including Hospital 24/7 and Under Milk Wood.
The singer has also turned her hand to advertisements including those for The Walkers’ Potato Chips and Virgin Holidays.
Charlotte has also written two autobiographies, most recently Keep Smiling released in 2007, and a number of opinion pieces for The Guardian.
Charlotte married musician Johnny Powell in 2017, and had a daughter, Frieda, on August 15, 2020.
Earlier this year, Charlotte returned to the spotlight on The Masked Singer as Mushroom, coming in at number two.
hippie municipality
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Charlotte last year bought the grand Rhydoldog’s home for £1.5m, and invested money to turn the home into a nature-based health haven.
The seven-bedroom, three-story mansion includes a helicopter landing area and a 200-year-old hangar set on 47 acres.
Charlotte planned to offer cycling, archery, foraging, hiking, strength and conditioning lessons on the property, according to Wales Online.
The mother of three also wants to introduce a hot tub, plunge pool and outdoor cinema to the luxury estate in the Welsh wilderness.
She called the “Inspirational Wellness Project” “one of the biggest, most dangerous and most rewarding challenges” I have ever faced.
With this latest reported setback, it could be even more expensive.
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