Tori Spelling Reveals Her Strange Connection To Prince Charles

Tori Spelling may not have a royal title, but the "Beverly Hills 90210" alum is as Hollywood royalty as you can get. The daughter of the late producer Aaron Spelling — who's responsible for iconic TV shows like "Charlie's Angels" and, yes, "Beverly Hills 90210" — Tori had anything but a regular childhood. Tori is Aaron and Candy Spelling's firstborn and only daughter, so having her childhood dreams come true was often possible, even if that included wishing for a snowy Christmas in Southern California. "It was, you know, probably 80 degrees out in L.A., and my dad took me outside and there was snow," the actor and best-selling author told ABC News in 2008. "At the time, I thought, 'Every kid doesn't have snow in their backyard on Christmas?'"

While many career-focused parents tend to place their work over their children, Aaron prioritized both equally. As "TV's most successful producer," according to The Sydney Morning Herald, Aaron worked long hours every business day, but the weekends were family time, Tori said in a May 2021 Instagram post. "We loved to swim together. We would spend hours in the pool on weekends. Playing Marco Polo and different swimming games," she wrote. 

In 2006, Aaron died from complications of a stroke at 83, The New York Times reported. Aaron died at the Spelling Manor, the family's famed 56,000-square-foot mansion in Holmby Hills, according to Mansion Global. It was at The Manor that Hollywood heiress Tori crossed paths with heir to the British throne, Prince Charles. 

Aaron and Candy Spelling weren't big on parties, but they made an exception for Prince Charles, Tori Spelling said on her "90210MG" podcast on February 28. "The first party, and one of her only parties, was for Prince Charles," Tori said. "When he came to town, he wanted to have it there!" The Manor was the largest home in Los Angeles Country at the time, according to People. At 56 square feet, Spelling Manor is bigger than the 55-square-foot White House, per its website. 

Tori clarified she didn't actually grow up at The Manor. "We moved there when I was like 17. So I lived there for like two years and that was it," she said. Construction finished in 1990, according to Mansion Global. Despite it being part of her family history, Tori has a hard time relating to the grandeur of the home. "It's like I'm looking at a movie, and it's not really my life," she said. According to a listing on Sally Forster Jones, the home has a "Prince Charles Suite," named after the high-profile guest.

In 2009, Candy put The Manor up for sale at an asking price of $150 million, the country's most expensive residential listing then, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 2011, she sold it to Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone for $85 million, according to another Los Angeles Times report. The Manor was put back on the marker in February for a whopping $165 million, Mansion Global noted.