The wife of a retired ambassador embroiled in a £20 million inheritance dispute has refuted claims that her husband “abdicated” his £15 million property to his “surrogate daughter” and relocated to Cumbria “to die.”
David Gladstone, former High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, is suing attorney Leigh White, a lifelong family friend, for allegedly squatting at his £15 million Grade-I listed mansion Wotton House near Aylesbury and refusing to leave.
Mrs. White, who claims that the now-frail ex-diplomat formerly treated her as his own kid, believes that she is the rightful successor to his mansion and £20 million estate because he made unambiguous and legally binding guarantees that Wotton would be hers.
Mary Gladstone, the 84-year-old wife of Mr. Gladstone, told the High Court that it would be “intolerable” for them to return to Wotton if Mrs. White does not leave, adding, “We are too old and tired to deal with the confrontation and drama.”
Leigh White, right, claims in the High Court that former Sri Lankan ambassador David Gladstone, 87, intended to bequeath her his £15 million Grade II-listed property upon his death.
Former Sri Lankan High Commissioner David Gladstone is suing family friend and attorney Leigh White for allegedly squatting in his £15 million Grade-A property.
I listed the Wotton House mansion near Aylesbury and refused to leave.
Mary Gladstone, the 84-year-old widow of Mr. Gladstone, told the High Court that it would be “intolerable” for them to return to Wotton unless Mrs. White left, adding, “We are too elderly and exhausted to deal with the conflict and drama.”
She also told Mr. Justice Trower that Mr. Gladstone, 87, became ‘less relaxed’ in his home after Mrs. White moved in with him in 2017 after the death of his son.
She also refuted allegations that, when the pair relocated to her home in the north during the initial Covid lockdown, she told Mrs. White that she was “carrying David to Cumbria to die” and that he had “abdicated from Wotton.”
Mr. Gladstone, who is still residing at his wife’s home in Cumbria, is engaged in a two-week trial against Mrs. White in which he seeks control of Wotton House and she says he cannot go back on supposed pledges that she would inherit it.
The family of Mr. Gladstone’s first wife April purchased the 18th-century Wotton House near Aylesbury in the 1950s, but he inherited it after her death in 2014.
Following a severe fire in the early 19th century, it was rebuilt by the renowned architect Sir John Soane, and its expansive grounds include pleasure gardens and two lakes designed by the renowned landscape architect Capability Brown.
They met Mrs. White thirty years ago, and their friendship flourished because to a common enthusiasm for Sri Lanka, classical music, and theater. She eventually joined their inner circle, managing Wotton as Mr. Gladstone aged.
Mrs. White asserts that, beginning in 2007, Mr. Gladstone regularly informed her that Wotton House and two other properties comprising his £20 million inheritance would be hers upon his death.
Mrs. White asserts that the relationship and Mr. Gladstone’s bequest plans altered suddenly only after he relocated to Cumbria with his new wife, Mary, to hide themselves from Covid-19.
He requested she move out so he could move back in and revealed he had drafted a new will, leaving his estate in a discretionary trust for the benefit of his family and leaving Mrs. White with nothing and no role.
Mr. Gladstone agrees that he first gave Ms. White broad authority to operate Wotton House on his behalf, but he claims she went too far and “regarded Wotton as her own,” and he now wants her to leave.
Mrs. Gladstone, who married David in 2021 after the death of his first wife in 2014, told the hearing that once Mrs. White began living in Wotton during the week, she “began to take over more” and insisted that his long-term cleaners be sacked.
She stated that her husband appeared less at ease around Leigh after she relocated to Wotton.
Mrs. Gladstone denies informing Ms. White that she was taking her husband to her Cumbrian home “to die” during the Covid epidemic; rather, she desired for him to be in a secure location to wait out the disease.
Mrs. Gladstone testified that Leigh treated Wotton as her own in her witness testimony.
I thought that Leigh opposed visits from David’s family, especially his nephews Ben and Matt Gladstone, brother Robert, and sister-in-law Sally.
She complained about having to make the beds and change the sheets.
If Wotton was filled with Leigh’s visitors, whom David did not know, he appeared to find the situation stressful.
Although he never spoke to me or Leigh, I could tell he was stressed because he would just sit in his chair looking resigned. I would take my cue from David’s gaze and we would ascend the stairs.
Mrs. Gladstone stated that when she and her husband fled to Cumbria in March 2020 to hide themselves from Covid, they did so “with little more than the clothing on our backs.”
She remarked, “At the time, I was eager to take David somewhere he could shield himself safely.”
“That was not practicable at Wotton with (Mrs. White’s son) entering and exiting the house and going to and from school.
“I was informed that Leigh asserts I told her I was ‘bringing David to Cumbria to die’ and that he had ‘abdicated from Wotton’
I was determined that David would not succumb to Covid and pass away alone in the hospital.
“I never told Leigh or anyone else that I was bringing David to Cumbria to die,” she stated. Additionally, I have never stated that David “had abdicated” from Wotton.
“At the time, David and I believed we would be shielding for no more than a month before returning to Wotton. That is why we brought so few items with us.
The court heard that the pair is eager to return to Wotton, but cannot until Mrs. White goes.
She stated that the burden of living at Wotton while Leigh also resided there would be overwhelming for both of them.
The palace was constructed in 1820 for Richard Grenville, 2nd Marquess of Buckingham, in the English Baroque style. It had been owned in the 1950s by Mr. Gladstone’s first wife’s family, who passed away in 2014.
“We are too elderly and exhausted to deal with the conflict and drama that would ensue.” David’s care position necessitates that he inhabit the quarters currently occupied by Wotton Leigh.’
Mr. Gladstone “desperately wants to spend the remainder of his life at Wotton,” according to his KC, Tracy Angus, but Mrs. White’s stubbornness has stopped him.
“Mrs. White resides in the residence with her family and refuses to leave,” the attorney added.
David’s relationship with Ms. White has irretrievably broken down. Mary and he cannot return to Wotton unless Mrs. White agrees to their departure.
Mrs. White stated in her testimony that Mr. Gladstone chose her as his heiress because he could “trust” her to carry out his ambition of turning Wotton into a center for classical music under the Wotton Charter.
The High Court trial lasted two weeks, but the judge has now reserved her judgement and will render a verdict at a later date.
He and his first wife April held classical music performances at the mansion on a regular basis, and he wished for this tradition to continue after his death, Mrs. White adds.
“He trusted me to take up the Wotton Charter, which I have attempted to do while he is still alive,” she told the judge. “I have attempted to make links with people in the opera world.”
The former educator and attorney stated that she had a close relationship with Mr. Gladstone, who referred to himself as her ‘dad’ in communications and assisted him in managing the house.
She stated from the testimony stand, “I was spending a great deal of time at Wotton, and David was consulting me on a variety of matters.”
I was his confidante in all matters. We frequently discussed the issue he was experiencing. I was his default – in the home, “Leigh would take care of things”
“I was the one David turned to when he needed things resolved, handled, and handled effectively.
‘At the moment, I was David’s right-hand man. I was present when he made decisions on the ground that would affect future events.
She told the judge it was incorrect to say David was ‘weak and didn’t know what he was doing’ or that she had tight control over his affairs, despite the fact that he had requested extra assistance following the death of his son.
She stated, “He obviously tried to pass me small items.”
“David was exhausted, and I believe his passing underscored the stage he had reached in life.” He was willing to remove his foot from the accelerator, hand over control, and initiate the entire succession process. He was simply exhausted.
Mr. Gladstone is suing for control of Wotton so he can move back in with his wife, but Mrs. White argues that it would be “unconscionable” for him to renege on contested pledges that she would inherit.
She alleges that since 2007, when the purported first assurances were provided, she has “positioned her entire life” on a future inheritance, jeopardizing her own legal career in order to dedicate time and energy to caring for Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone and Wotton.
The former ambassador to Sri Lanka and the first person to open a British embassy in Ukraine is also seeking the return of approximately £800,000 in bonds that he transferred to Mrs. White.
She denies that she ‘unduly influenced’ him into transferring them, stating that his decision was merely a form of inheritance tax planning at the time he made it.
The High Court trial lasted two weeks, but the judge has now reserved her judgement and will render a verdict at a later date.