Leigh White, a lawyer, has lost a court case against David Gladstone, an 87-year-old former British diplomat, who sued her after she refused to leave the home she moved into after the death of his son.
White claimed that she is the rightful heir to his sprawling estate, including the Grade I listed Wotton House near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, a £15 million house and the rest of his £20 million estate, alleging that Gladstone, a descendant of former Prime Minister William Gladstone, promised her the inheritance.
However, Mr Justice Trower rejected her claim, finding that Gladstone had made no promise that she would inherit and had merely wanted her to take a lead in running the house because he trusted her to do so.
During the two-week trial, it emerged that Mr Gladstone and his first wife, April, met White 30 years ago, and their friendship bloomed due to a shared passion for Sri Lanka, classical music, and theatre. White managed Wotton House after April’s death, and she moved in after the death of Gladstone’s son.
The house dates to 1714 and boasts Grade II listed Italian gardens, the first of its kind in England, completed in 1652. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie bought the former coach house on the estate in 2008.
Following the trial, the court ordered White to pay Mr Gladstone’s legal bills, which his lawyers said would total “over £1 million,” and also leave Wotton House by March 3, 2022, to allow for Mr Gladstone’s return. The judge rejected White’s lawyer’s request to row back on his ruling and instead gave her until March 3, 2022, to leave.
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