Photos: For Sale! Spot where Princess Diana & Dodi Al Fayed started their romance

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With a price tag of about £70million, this palatial villa on the French Riviera is beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest oligarchs.

But while the sprawling 30-bedroom property in St Tropez has all the luxuries any billionaire would demand, Castle St Therese also has a unique place in history – as the spot where Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed started their romance.

It was also where they began their final break together. 

They were photographed, apparently kissing, on a yacht that sailed from the villa a few days before the Paris car crash which killed them both.

Mr Al Fayed and his Finnish-born second wife, Heini, first invited the Princess of Wales and her sons William and Harry to spend a holiday at the estate in July 1997, where they stayed in the guesthouse. 

The Egyptian-born tycoon also invited his 42-year-old son Dodi, whom the Princess barely knew, to join them.

During this holiday, Diana and Dodi’s relationship blossomed, and over the following weeks the couple returned to the main villa twice on their own, staying there briefly before taking one of the family yachts for a cruise around the Mediterranean.

On the second of these cruises, the couple were famously pictured embracing on the deck of the yacht. 

They then travelled on to Paris where they died on August 31 in a high-speed crash shortly after leaving the Ritz Hotel. 

nsiders said the interiors of the St Tropez villa would hardly have changed since Diana was there nearly 18 years ago.

A glossy brochure produced by estate agents Knight Frank for potential purchasers, which has been obtained by The Mail on Sunday, shows the property’s magnificent views across the bay from its secluded position in landscaped gardens dotted by trees.

Neighbours have included Bernard Arnault, the owner of the Louis Vuitton luxury goods business.

The four-acre site within the private community of Les Parc De St Tropez boasts a main villa with nine bedrooms, five of which are ensuite, large reception rooms, two kitchens, a children’s playroom, swimming pool and terraces.

The estate also boasts a waterfront beach house with nine bedrooms, an indoor and outdoor pool, a nightclub with a cinema and a bar, and a gym and sauna.

There is a boathouse large enough to accommodate a speedboat, with a roof terrace that doubles as a helipad, and a jetty where the Al Fayed yacht was often moored.

In addition, the compound includes the four-bedroom guesthouse where Diana and her sons stayed, a security lodge and tennis court, plus staff accommodation.

The property was built in the 1860s and was originally owned by Ferdinand de Lesseps, the developer of the Suez Canal. 

Although there is no asking price detailed in the discreet brochure, insiders said that a figure of £70 million was being mentioned. 

Knight Frank was last night unable to confirm this.

Mr Al Fayed’s spokesman Michael Cole confirmed that the businessman had decided to sell the property as he had barely used it since his children had grown up. 

Mr Cole said: ‘Mr Al Fayed has given this a great deal of thought. It is a bittersweet moment for him.’

He added: ‘He and his family have happy memories of St Tropez over many years and will always remember the summer of 1997 with great happiness and, of course, with tremendous sadness and regret at the way it ended.’