The Queen pulled out all the stops in 1986 when she gifted the Duke and Duchess of York a 665-acre parcel of land on the Sunninghill Park Estate in Berkshire following their wedding that same year. A swish 12-bedroom mansion was commissioned, complete with grand reception rooms, stables and a swimming pool, with construction work began on the flashy royal residence in 1987.

The mansion deteriorated further. In December 2013, planning permission was granted to replace the rundown property with a bigger 14-bedroom home, but demolition work didn't begin until 2015. At long last, the eyesore was reduced to rubble in 2016, and the new house is finally nearing completion, much to the relief of the neighbours and local authority. Love the Royal family? Take a look at the private homes of Queen Elizabeth II. 

A romantic escape for Major Dooley and his beloved wife Sarah, Swannanoa was kitted out with furnishings worthy of a billionaire, including exquisite Carrara marble flooring and wall panels, along with gold plumbing fixtures. The home's wow-factor feature is a stunning 4,000-piece Tiffany stained glass window featuring a depiction of Mrs Dooley that cost the equivalent of $64,000 (£51k) when adjusted for inflation. 

Russell died in 1963 and his wife continued to lease the property until her death in 1988, when it was repurposed as the Russell Museum. Owners the Delaney family shut the museum in 1998 and partly renovated the property, but the vacant Gilded Age mansion, which they describe as a “money pit”, still requires extensive work, though it does manage to function as a venue for weddings and other events. See more amazing abandoned stately homes full of secrets...

The no holds barred spending extended to the opulent bathrooms, which were fitted with the most expensive gold fixtures money could buy. Yanukovych installed an underground shooting range and dropped $3 million (£2.4m) on a golf course. A pricey bowling alley and tennis courts were also constructed.

There was a swanky red-walled nightclub in the complex, which had a bar stocked with the best vintage champagnes, fine wines and spirits.  The Gbadolite complex also had several huge swimming pools, a five-star hotel for visiting dignitaries and a number of plush guesthouses to boot.

Mobutu was deposed in May 1997, having embezzled up to $15 billion (£12bn). The ex-president fled to Morocco, where he died later that year. Gbadolite was looted and all its valuables were removed or destroyed. The jungle has since reclaimed the complex, which lies ruined and abandoned. See more stately homes from around the world in our gallery...

The sprawling country house was built for copper tycoon Hugh Robert Hughes, who became known as HRH due to his suitably regal lifestyle. The mansion passed through several families and was last used as a private home in 1929, when it was sold to the highest bidder and converted into a boy's school.

Kinmel Hall was added to the Victorian Society's Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings list in 2015 due to its worsening state. The current owner, who resides in the Cayman Islands, has pretty much left the grand mansion to rack and ruin, and the restoration bill is now likely to cost in the region of $25 million (£20m). Love history? See more stately homes struggling to survive.

This venerable historic plantation house in Leesburg, Virginia sits on 212 acres and dates back to 1700. The mansion was rebuilt in 1902 in a Colonial Revival style by its then owner Elijah Brokenborough White, who hired the most prestigious artisans he could find to deck out the rooms, which are notable for their fine panelling.

Maaten effectively abandoned the property in the early 2000s. Left to the elements, Selma Mansion began to fall apart. The crumbling house was slowly reclaimed by nature and the interiors were targeted by vandals. Period features were smashed up or stolen, and parts of the roof caved in.

In 2016, local resident Sharon Virts spotted the house on the list and vowed to buy and restore it. Delighting conservationists, Virts and her husband Scott Miller persuaded Maaten to sell and succeeded in acquiring the property for $1.2 million (£953k). Rescued from ruin, Selma Mansion is currently being restored to its former glory. See more of America's most endangered historic houses...

White invested in the studio but the house lay neglected for years. Trevor Bishenden aka TrevBish Photography captured the dilapidated interiors last year when the manor appeared to be completely abandoned with rising damp and wallpaper peeling off the walls. Fortunately, Hook End has since been given a new lease of life and is in the process of being renovated. Love this? Check out more historic buildings brought back from the brink.

After Jackson's death in 2009, the ranch fell into disrepair and the property was put up for sale in 2015 with an asking price of $100 million (£79m). Despite lowering the price to $67 million (£53m), Colony Capital has been unable to offload the now renovated ranch and it remains unsold and unlived in. Looking for a fixer-upper? You can buy these abandoned buildings for sale.