The grand London mansion formerly owned by prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn has been listed for £65 million (US$86.1 million). Built in 1928, this expansive 15,980-square-foot home is located in Knightsbridge, one of the city’s most exclusive areas, near landmarks such as the V&A Museum, Harrods, and Hyde Park.
From the 1930s until the late 1990s, the mansion was the official residence of the Panamanian ambassador, a position held by Fonteyn’s husband, Roberto Emilio Arias, from the mid-1950s until 1966. During their time there, the home hosted notable guests including Princess Margaret and her husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, actors John Wayne and Peter Sellers, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, and ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, according to Caudwell, the listing agency that put the property on the market last week.
Lars Christiaanse, group director of sales at Caudwell, noted, “When Rudolf Nureyev, Fonteyn’s ballet partner, defected from Russia in 1961, he resided at Fonteyn House while his contract with the Royal Ballet was being negotiated. He often practiced ballet with Dame Margot in the dance studio on the second floor.”
After Arias was shot by his political associate in Panama City, his diplomatic career ended, and the couple left the property in 1966, moving to a riverfront country house.
Fonteyn dedicated her entire dance career to the Royal Ballet and was honored with the title of prima ballerina assoluta—a rare distinction—by Queen Elizabeth II. She passed away in 1991 at the age of 71.
According to property records, the mansion last changed ownership in 2010 when it was purchased for £12.5 million by a limited company. Following a comprehensive six-year restoration, the six-bedroom home, now known as Fonteyn House, retains its period facade but features a luxurious Art Deco-inspired interior. The residence boasts multiple reception rooms, a spa with a gym and pool, an elevator, and balconies.
The house features a Portland stone staircase with a central atrium, a club room with a cinema screen, a cocktail bar, and a temperature-controlled wine cellar. Additional highlights include a 12-seat dining room, a beauty space with a massage bed and hair salon, and a rooftop terraced garden.
It also includes a top-floor penthouse suite, a staff apartment, and a walled garden with terraces, a barbecue area, and a raised lawn and lounge area complete with its own marble fireplace and built-in cinema screen.
“The driveway provides privacy from the street, creating an exceptionally quiet and serene garden environment that feels more like a country house than an urban residence,” Christiaanse noted.