/St_Vincent_and_ The_Grenadines

If the 32 islands in this chain, only eight are populated. St Vincent is the largest and its tropical splendours make the perfect setting for idyllic yachting and sailing. The tiny island of Mustique is the venue of Princess Margaret's only real estate, a villa she named Les Eaux Jolies, or The Pretty Waters. In her salad days, the Queen of England's pretty sister was known as the Calypso Princess. She could sing, dance and mime with near professional expertise. On at least one occasion, she was the victim of pesky papparazzi and was photographed on a Mustique beach along with three young nude males. Today, however, Princess Margaret is a model grandmother who makes at least 50 public appearances annually on behalf of various charities.

The southern palm-fringed Grenadines boast mountainous Union Island, a favourite port of call for "yachties" and parties. Further to the south are privately owned hideaway isles of Mayareau, Palm Island and Petit St Vincent.

When Italian Baron Carlo Amato and friends discovered Canouan in 1990, there were no cars and the tiny island was pretty much as Columbus saw it in 1498. The Baron had hoped to settle in Mustique, an island which sometimes turns people away. No problem in the Baron's case, as he found the 1,800 undeveloped acres of Canouan quite to his liking in lieu of "royal" Mustique. Today, a complex of 130 apartments and 107 villas, plus 18-hole championship golf course and marina are under construction. The largest villa, costing $5 million and on a huge lot, is nearing completion. Amato imported Italian chefs for his 42-room Tamarind Beach Hotel and the food and hospitality is said to be first-class.

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