LONDON // The heir to the British throne placed the Qatar royal family "between a rock and a hard place" by objecting to the modernist design of a development they planned in west London, a judge has said. Prince Charles's intervention in a £3 billion (Dh16.5bn) project at the site of the old Chelsea Barracks was "unexpected and unwelcome", Mr Justice Vos ruled at the High Court in London.
The development was days away from being considered by planners when Qatari Diar Real Estate (QD), which is wholly owned by the Qatar royal family, abruptly withdrew its proposal. The withdrawal came after Prince Charles had told both Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, and Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, the QD chairman, Qatar's prime minister and a cousin of the emir, that he hated the design by Lord Rogers. The prince is noted for his opposition to modern architecture.
The High Court was ruling on a claim from QD's partner, the property developer Christian Candy, that the Qataris had breached the terms of their agreement by withdrawing the proposal. Although Mr Justice Vos ruled in favour of Mr Candy's company, CPC Group, he said the firm was not entitled to the early payment of £68.5 million under the terms of the contract.The judge said he would consider the issue at a later hearing if CPC seeks damages for breach of contract.
Mr Justice Vos said that both CPC and QD "were faced with a very difficult position once the Prince of Wales intervened in the planning process". The judge added: "His intervention was, no doubt, unexpected and unwelcome." dsapsted@thenational.ae
