This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 17 October 2018. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
A BBC documentary about Roald Dahl sheds light on the true home of his character, the BFG.
The house is the former royal residence of Windsor Great Park, Cumberland Lodge.
At the end of The BFG, fresh from helping the Queen of England by rounding up the world's man-eating giants, the BFG and his friend Sophie are rewarded with gifts from around the world, including a "special house" from the Queen.
The book reads: "The Queen herself gave orders that a special house with tremendous high ceilings and enormous doors should immediately be built in Windsor Great Park, next to her own castle, for the BFG to live in.
And a pretty little cottage was put up next door for Sophie. "The "special house" almost certainly alludes to the largest property in the Great Park, Cumberland Lodge.
The Grade II listed building has been part of the Crown Estate since the second half of the 17th century and since 1947 has housed an educational foundation with a mission to facilitate open discussion and the exchange of views on some of the ethical and social issues of the day.
The current principal is the Canon Dr Edmund Newell, who was previously the Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral and founding Director of St Paul's Institute, and Sub-Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. King George VI granted the building to the foundation back in 1947, an arrangement continued by The Queen, who is the foundation's Patron.
The reference to Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park appears to have been a private joke on the part of Dahl, who spent much of his childhood living in a relatively modest house in Cardiff, also called Cumberland Lodge. Canon Dr Edmund Newell, said: "As a fan of Roald Dahl myself, I was intrigued to discover that Cumberland Lodge is actually the BFG's fictional home. "In real life we're an educational charity and while we don't round up disruptive giants and store bottled dreams in our cellar like the BFG did, we do seek to inspire creative thinking and stimulate debate around important issues like how to respond to the challenges of extremism and divisions in society and build more cohesive communities. "