A widowed grandmother of six has won the keys to her £4,500,000 dream home in Cornwall - as part of a prize draw that raised more than two million pounds for the end-of-life charity, Marie Curie.
June Smith, aged 74, from Essex, has won the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw - a six-bedroom, three-storey house overlooking the picturesque Fowey Estuary.
She has also been given £100,000 in cash to help her settle in - plus the house comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
The dream home is the biggest-ever house prize draw to be given away in the UK. June is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it.
If June decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve £5,000 - £7,000 per month from long-term rentals - and up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals.
June, who bought her £4,500,000 winning entry for just £25 – sadly lost her husband of 43 years, Ron, last year when he suffered a heart attack aged 74.
June has three children (Katherine, Wesley and Rory) and six grandchildren, Katherine and Rory live in East Anglia with two children each, and Wesley lives on the Gold Coast of Australia with his wife and two children.
June has lived in her 2-bedroom detached house in Essex for the past 17 years. She worked as a bookkeeper before she retired to have children. Ron had worked as an architectural designer all his life.
June said that Ron: "Would’ve absolutely loved the design of this house," and will be "looking down with an approving smile."
When Omaze arrived to tell June she’d scooped the grand prize, she couldn’t believe she’d actually won, exclaiming "people like me don’t win things like this."
A stunned June said: "I was just settling in for a standard Friday night in front of the tele - then the next thing I knew I’d won a mansion, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I did was call my children, the second was to open a bottle of red!
"My husband Ron died last year, but I’m sure he played a part in this win – he won it for all of us. Ron always wanted us to be financially secure as a family - and this house gives us that security.
"He spent his life working with architecture, he’d have absolutely loved this house – it’s a work of art.
"We used to come for family holidays in Cornwall and stay in a caravan, but now we own a £4.5m mansion – it’s just unbelievable!
"The house is truly stunning and the views are simply breathtaking, even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits when we first came here, it was love at first sight.
"It has its own yoga studio, so maybe I’ll take that up, although my son says it would make a great bar too!
"I’ve got six beautiful grandchildren and have now got plenty of room for all of them to come and stay - we’re going to have the best summer holiday ever!
"Having spent some time at the house, I’m definitely going to keep it for a while, whatever I decide to do long term it’s a life changing win for our family."
June added: “I’m so happy Marie Curie received such a huge amount from the draw, they are an incredible charity and I know first-hand how important the work they do is.”
The main sitting room forms the heart of the home and gives incredible views across the estuary through floor-to-ceiling glass doors that lead onto one of the terraces. The serene space has a double-sided log fire, with a cinema and snug room complete with 85-inch TV on the other side, that also leads out to a west-facing patio.
A state-of-the-art kitchen and breakfast room features a central island and glazed sliding doors on two sides that lead out onto a cantilevered balcony. In addition to the Smallbone units and Sub-Zero appliances, there are two dishwashers, a hot water tap, and a Wolf cooker with a Teppanyaki cooker and griddle.
A secondary kitchen pantry sits on the other side of the hallway, next to a dining room with ample space for entertaining family and friends.
A cantilevered staircase leads up to the first floor, where a large open landing leads to the main bedroom, which has glazed walls on two sides and some of the finest estuary views the property has to offer. In addition to a dressing area, there is a luxury en-suite bathroom with a walk-in shower.
A ground-floor bedroom with an en-suite bathroom is accessed from the sitting room with exceptional estuary views. The bedroom also has access to the balcony in front of the sitting room. A secondary staircase leads from the sitting room to a guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and access to a shared balcony. There are two further bedrooms with en-suite facilities on the first floor, all rooms are finished to an impeccable standard.
A yoga studio sits at one end of the garden with yet more breathtaking estuary views thanks to the curved floor-to-ceiling window. Internally, the finish is to the same exacting standards and has its own bathroom. It also has its own private terrace facing the estuary.
Fowey is just 200 yards away via ferry or a short drive into the town centre that offers a selection of amenities with a number of shops, banks, boutiques, bars, delicatessens, and restaurants.
As well as making June a multi-millionaire - the Cornwall II House Draw also raised £2,100,000 for Marie Curie, an end-of-life charity that fights to make sure everyone gets to lead the best life they can, right to the end.
The money raised will help Marie Curie to provide care and support to more people affected by terminal illness. It will go towards funding frontline nursing and hospice care, a free support line and a wealth of information on all aspects of dying, death and bereavement.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive at Marie Curie, said: "Congratulations to June and her family on winning this beautiful home. We want to express our enormous gratitude to all members of the Omaze community whose individual contributions will collectively make a tangible improvement to the lives of people affected by terminal illness in the UK.
"The money raised could fund around 100 Marie Curie Nurses and Healthcare Assistants to support people with terminal illness. It would mean nearly 2,000 families receive expert care and emotional support when they need it most.
"Every five minutes, someone in the UK dies without the care and support they need. This is heart-breaking not only for each person it happens to, but also for the people who love them. That’s why this campaign has been so impactful.
"This partnership with Omaze will help Marie Curie be there for more people. Our nurses will be able to support more families to make the most of the precious time they have together."
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