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A grand country estate which almost became Queen Victoria's summer house has gone on the market for a whopping 6.5 million pounds.

The monarch fell in love with the enormous Eaglehurst estate when she stayed there as a 14-year-old in 1833.

Four years later Victoria ascended the throne and, wanting somewhere to which she and her beloved husband Albert could retreat from the pressures of court life, began searching for a holiday residence.

Her first thought was Eaglehurst. Albert was taken with the unbeatable views of the Solent, which he likened to the Bay of Naples, but the pair eventually settled on Osborne House almost directly opposite Eaglehurst on the Isle of Wight.

The 10-acre estate dates back to the early 1800s when it was built by General Richard Lambart, a Napoleonic era military commander who was the governor of nearby Calshot Castle.

Eaglehurst is now on the market with Strutt and Parker for 6.5 million pounds.