CREATING A MAGIC KINGDOM

The Duchess of Northumberland, who has transformed Alnwick Castle into a fairytale realm for children, tells us why the monarch's support is key

- INTERVIEW: JACK MALVERN

Since Jane Percy became Duchess of Northumberland, her stately home and gardens have appeared as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, provided the setting for the world's largest wooden treehouse and hosted cage-fighting contests.

The Duchess, who introduces herself by saying “everyone calls me Jane”, is now adding children's author to her list of achievements, after taking inspiration from the wonderland she has built for youngsters in her gardens at Alnwick Castle, in northeast England.

Jane, 67, gained her title in 1995, when her husband's brother Henry, 11th Duke of Northumberland, died at the age of 42. The businesswoman's sudden elevation to the aristocracy worried her: would she be bored?

Her husband, Ralph, the 12th Duke, suggested that she renovate the castle's gardens. It was a project she took on with gusto, creating the largest children's play structure in the world, within a fantasy village named Lilidorei. It opened to the public in 2023, 12 years after Jane had conceived the idea.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL DUCHESS