Kenya's eco-friendly villa fit for British royalty

An eco-friendly villa in Kenya's coastal county of Kilifi played host to Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla during their recent Royal visit to the east African country.

Overlooking the Indian Ocean, the five-bedroom, fully ensuite villa served as the perfect accommodation for the royal's stay. 

For climate-conscious King Charles, the house's best feature was its solar power, with the entire building and its infinity pool completely powered by the sun. 

The villa was built in 2016 by Kenya-based Dutch designer Erwine Overkamp and sold to the late Kenyan business mogul Chris Kirubi. 

It's an ultra-modern Scandinavian-style family home sitting on 750 square metres of lush green land. Located in the highly exclusive Vipingo Ridge, it is also only a short half hour drive from the port city of Mombasa. 

Surrounded by towering trees, with a balcony overlooking the ridge for perfect sunset views, the villa was probably chosen by the royals "because of security, privacy, the nature," says Overkamp. 

The king and queen stayed for only 24 hours, but according to the designer, they greatly enjoyed their visit.

"I was privileged enough to meet the King and the Queen, and His Majesty pointed out that he loved the architecture, he loved the old and the new combined," says Overkamp. "The Queen mentioned as well that she had a fantastic stay. They had less than 24 hours but they enjoyed themselves very much." 

King Charles III and Queen Camilla toured Kenya during a four-day state visit at the start of November.