Mr. Engmann, now a securities trader and an entrepreneur, says he and his wife, Barbara, will miss entertaining at the house, which can easily accommodate 500 guests and a band for a reception or 100 friends at an Easter-egg hunt.

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Over the past several years, Highclere Castle has welcomed between 60, 000 and 70, 000 visitors through its interiors annually and another 20, 000 to 30, 000 onto its grounds for game fairs, concerts, charity events even an annual Easter Egg hunt for as many as 1, 500 children.

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We live in an age of helicopter parents so pushy and overbearing that Colorado Springs banned its annual Easter-egg hunt on account of adults jumping the starter's gun and scooping up treat-filled plastic eggs on behalf of their winsome kids.

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