SouthYork the sequel: Fourteen years after oligarch paid £3m over the asking price for Prince Andrew's marital home and razed it to the ground, an ultra-modern mega-mansion is born

• Prince Andrew’s for­mer mar­i­tal home in Ascot, Berkshire was razed six years ago by its new owner
• Sunninghill Park’s replace­ment is near com­ple­tion, with six en-suite bed­rooms and a 25m swim­ming pool
• It was bought by Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the for­mer pres­i­dent of Kazakhstan, in 2007 for £15m

When Prince Andrew’s for­mer mar­i­tal home was razed six years ago by its new own­er, few design con­nois­seurs would have lament­ed its loss.

Sunninghill Park had been com­pared to both a Tesco super­store and Southfork Ranch, JR’s vul­gar pile in Dallas, and it had gone to wrack and ruin after lying emp­ty for eight years.

Now its sprawl­ing replace­ment is near­ing com­ple­tion at long last – and while the jury is out on whether it is any eas­i­er on the eye, its lux­u­ri­ous and ultra-mod­ern cre­den­tials can’t be denied.

As well as six en-suite bed­rooms, it boasts sweep­ing glass bal­conies, tow­er­ing French doors and a 25-metre swim­ming pool.

Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the for­mer pres­i­dent of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, bought Sunninghill Park in Ascot, Berkshire, in 2007 for £15million.

Curiously he paid £3million more than the ask­ing price, even though the prop­er­ty had been on the mar­ket for five years.

It was lat­er report­ed that the Duke of York had been act­ing as a fix­er in Mr Kulibayev’s busi­ness deals. Andrew – who is close to the tycoon’s father-in-law, enjoy­ing goose-hunt­ing trips with him – denied any impropriety.

The oil and gas tycoon left the house, which was only about 30 years old, emp­ty and it fell into disrepair.

Demolition work began in 2015 after bats that had been roost­ing in the roof were found a new home, and plan­ning per­mis­sion for a new prop­er­ty was granted.

Left: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Right: Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of ex-Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev

This is the first time a pho­to of the appar­ent­ly com­plet­ed rear exte­ri­or has been seen.

The main build­ing is brick with stone cladding to cre­ate ‘a mod­ern inter­pre­ta­tion of a coun­ty house’, accord­ing to plan­ning documents.

There is also a huge split-lev­el ter­race for enter­tain­ing, a sun deck, foun­tain, chil­dren’s play area, as well as a walled kitchen garden.

Further afield there are ten­nis courts, while out­build­ings include a four-vehi­cle garage, guard­hous­es at the entrance and staff quarters.

Architects HOK, behind the BBC’s New Broadcasting House in cen­tral London, are report­ed­ly the designers.

Inside, the lux­u­ry con­tin­ues. On the ground floor there is a gym with steam, ice and sauna rooms, a games room, library and guest bedroom.

The upstairs is split into a chil­dren’s wing, where there are two en-suite bed­rooms and anoth­er for a nan­ny, and an adult wing, with two grand mas­ter bed­rooms, plus dress­ing rooms and a liv­ing room.

The pre­vi­ous house, which had 12 bed­rooms, was a gift from the Queen to Andrew and Sarah Ferguson after they mar­ried in 1986, and they moved in to the new-build in 1990.

It was nick­named SouthYork after the ranch in the 1980s TV show Dallas. The cou­ple’s mar­riage end­ed in 1996 and the house was put on the mar­ket for £12million in 2002.

Andrew moved to Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park two years lat­er, while Sarah and daugh­ters Beatrice and Eugenie stayed on at Sunninghill until 2006.

It is not known if Mr Kulibayev intends to move into his new house, sell or rent it.

By DAVID WILKES FOR THE DAILY MAIL