It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds and is a historic Grade I listed estate.

From 857, the site was owned by a Saxon chief called Led or Leed who built a wooden structure on two islands in the middle of the River Len.

[2] In the Late Middle Ages, the growth of the royal household meant fewer residences could accommodate the monarchy when they visited.

As a result, expenditure on royal residences in south east England generally decreased except for the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.

[10] In 1544, Hone returned to repair windows in the lodgings and a banqueting house in the garden for a visit by Catherine Parr.

[14] The castle escaped destruction during the English Civil War because its owner, Sir Cheney Culpeper, sided with the Parliamentarians.

Sale of the family estates in Virginia released a large sum of money that allowed extensive repair and the remodelling of the castle in a Tudor style, completed in 1823, that resulted in the appearance today.

Olive, Lady Baillie, daughter of Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough and his first wife, Pauline Payne Whitney, an American heiress.

However, it was quickly understood that it could not support the ongoing costs of running the Estate, so in 1975 the gardens were opened to the public, and the following year the Castle was also made available to visitors.

[16] The castle also hosted the Northern Ireland peace talks held in September 2004 led by Tony Blair.

[22] In October 2021, Leeds Castle Foundation was one of 142 recipients across England to receive part of a £35 million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.

[29] The castle and its grounds are a major leisure destination with a golf course and what may be the world's only museum of dog collars.

[31] The castle also offers accommodations for tourists including rental rooms[32] and a campsite area with luxury tents called Knight's Glamping.

[35] The castle was a location for the Ealing Comedy film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) as a stand-in for 'Chalfont', the ancestral home of the aristocratic d'Ascoyne family.

[citation needed] On the small screen, the castle and grounds provided all the filming locations for a Doctor Who serial, The Androids of Tara, in 1978.

[36][37][38] A more recent source states that the castle has been used for The Hollow Crown television series, for a Bollywood action movie called Rustom and for "Darkest Hour", "Casanova, Classic Mary Berry (BBC1), Who Do You Think You Are special with Danny Dyer, Antiques Roadtrip (BBC1), and What Would Your Kid Do?