A HOME fit for a prince is to be built on a Herefordshire estate, amid speculation that it will become home to Prince William and his future wife.

Royal watchers predict the prince and his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton could marry as early as next year.

It is also claimed that the prince's father, Prince Charles, has plans for a grand Georgian-style mansion at Harewood Park, near Hereford, described by the Duchy of Cornwall as "one of the jewels in the crown" of an estate which was bought in 2000.

The principal house had disappeared and many of the estate buildings, including a Grade II listed stable block and a chapel, were derelict after standing empty for nearly 30 years.

A six-bedroom mansion is to be built there, using sandstone from the estate and oak from its woodlands, as the focal point of an eight-year restoration project.

Plans drawn up by architect Craig Hamilton and approved by Herefordshire Council show a beautifully proportioned building with pavilions on either side.

The parkland, with terraced gardens, a lake and a ha-ha, will be reinstated. The project for Harewood Park included rebuilding eight houses, restoring the stables and chapel and creating offices and craft units, providing work and homes for up to 100 people.

Tenants have already begun to move in but so far, not a brick has been laid on the mansion itself.

A spokesman for Clarence House said that any suggestion the place was meant for Prince William was pure speculation.

"The plan has always been to build with a view to letting on the open market and it is still a few years off being built," she said.