The incredible mansion 'bigger than Buckingham Palace' left abandoned in countryside

It's an extraordinary mansion that looks like it could have one day been the jewel in the crown of the royal family.

Work on the palatial and sprawling Hamilton Palace actually began in 1985 in beautiful countryside on the instructions of a property multi-millionaire - but it has never been completed and has instead been standing largely in ruins for decades.

Said to be bigger than Buckingham Palace it has even been given different monikers including "the biggest slum in Britain" and the "ghost house of Sussex".

The mansion, which is set amidst green trees and woodland near the town of Uckfield in East Sussex, is the vision of businessman Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, who has made headlines in newspapers and on television for decades, ever since he became a millionaire at the age of 22 and continued to ruthlessly defend his business empire, reports the Express.

But being left to decay since construction stopped in 1985, the mansion now wastes away in the countryside and left abandoned.

The owner, Nicholas van Hoogstraten, was convicted for the manslaughter of a former buisness rival Mohammed Raja in 2002. However, the verdict was overturned on appeal and he was subsequently released.

Three years later, Nicholas was ordered to pay the Raja family £6 million in a civil case. Construction was put on hold shortly after, and Mr Van Hoogstraten told The Argus that completing the renovations weren't his "top priority".

He is reported to have been worth as much as £800million in the past, and some of his children have appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List in recent years with estimated wealth of £25million as recently as 2020.

But, now close to 80 in age, he is reported to rarely be in Britain these days, instead living in