£20M set of 'The King's Speech' being used for x-rated parties

£20M set of 'The King's Speech' being used for x-rated parties




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p>The owner of the £20 million London property, where scenes were shot for an Oscar nominated film, argues that his notorious parties are 'not a disturbance'.

 The Central London Georgian mansion located at 33 Portland Place in Marylebone was chosen as the period set for scenes from the film ‘The King’s Speech’. Yet despite the historic significance of the mansion, the owner Edward Davenport has also used the property for less than regal functions. These gatherings have caused a significant disturbance among local residents.
 
Last April Westminster Council discovered that the 110 rooms set out over five floors had been used for high-class sex parties, as was reported by the Daily Mail. Edward Davenport is reported to have charged guests £90 each to attend one of these events. He also hosted a masquerade ball, and several ‘porn discos’.
 
Davenport, who has already been charged with an alleged £12M commercial loans fraud, was accused of breaching planning guidelines by hosting the ‘sex parties’.
 
The council stated that Davenport did not have permission to play host to any commercial activity at the mansion. In July 2010, the council explicitly banned him from holding these any further ‘parties’.
 
In January this year the Court of Appeal granted Mr Davenport permission to challenge the ruling and a judge lifted the injunction that had stopped the parties.
 
The judge, Mr Justice Eady, said there was nothing wrong with Mr Davenport hiring out parts of the building to fund his annual maintenance costs of £250,000, as long as he applied for planning permission to reflect a change of use.
 
The royal nature of ‘The King’s Speech’, has increased the level of controversy over his x-rated parties, with many being offended by the association. A group of Westminster residents have already taken legal action against the socialite.
 
Davenport continues to argue his case and told the Daily Mail that ‘these activities cause no noise disturbance and have no impact on the neighborhood’.
 
By Florence Mosshart

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