The Saudi royal family has demanded the closure of a nudist beach in the French Riviera ahead of their visit to a stunning seafront villa, once the holiday home of Sir Winston Churchill.

Authorities in Vallauris in the Cote d'Azur, less than 10km from glitzy Cannes, have confirmed Mirandole beach will be closed at the height of summer.

The move has angered residents, who are threatening to take legal action over plans to block the entrance tunnel to the beach.

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Closed: The beach of Mirandola (circled) will be shut to the public during the height of summer, angering locals

Colourful past: The villa in the Cote d'Azur, France was used as a holiday home by Sir Winston Churchill

The royals, headed by King Salman, own the villa, which Rita Hayworth used as the venue for her wedding reception. Sir Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor were among those who used it as a holiday home.

Locals are annoyed by construction work at the beauty spot, after a huge concrete slab was placed in the sand, The Local reports.

'Last Friday between midday and 2pm they laid down a concrete slab by the tunnel and put barriers around it,' one resident said.

'We can't enjoy an idyllic place like this with all this dust and noise. Workers even told one woman to make the most of [the beach] now, because soon she wouldn't be able to access it.'

Blandine Ackermann, president of the Association for the defence of the Golfe-Juan and Vallauris environment, told The Telegraph she is planning to take legal action if the beach does not remain open and restored.

Rich and famous: Rita Hayworth used the villa in Vallauris, Cote d'Azur, for her wedding reception in May 1949

Rita Hayworth pictured with a rose around her neck at her wedding reception at the villa in the south of France

CHURCHILL AND THE KENNEDYS: PARTY VILLA OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS British biographer Mary S. Lovell, who is writing a book about the villa in the French Riviera, has revealed the property's colourful history. Originally called Chateau de l'Horizon, it was built in 1932 for American actress Maxine Elliott - a friend of Winston Churchill and his mother. Among the people who stayed (and partied) with Maxine between 1932 and 1939, were Winston Churchill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, American gossip columnist and author Elsa Maxwell and Doris Delevingne, model Cara's great-aunt. The villa, pictured here in 1978, was originally called Chateau de l'Horizon and was visited by celebrities Maxine died in 1940 and during the Second World War the property was used as Gestapo officer accommodation. After the war, the grand villa was bought by Prince Aly Khan, who was considered the head of the Ismaili Muslims, which are a branch of Shia Islam. The prince married Hollywood star Rita Hayworth in a lavish ceremony in France in 1949, and the reception was held at the seafront villa. The likes of actress Elizabeth Taylor, entertainer Eddie Fisher and the Kennedys visited the property in the Cote d'Azur. Prince Aly Khan died in a car crash in 1960 and his body was buried temporarily at the villa, until it could be safely moved to Syria. The property was bought in 1979 by the heir to the Saudi throne, the future King Fahd. Advertisement

'This concrete slab is taking up half the beach,' she said. 'If the King feels unsafe on the beach then he should stay in his villa.'

The mayor of Vallauris, Michelle Salucki asked police to make sure no permanent barriers were put on the beach to make sure the public could regain access when the royal family left.

'On Wednesday morning I asked the municipal police to prevent a gate at the entrance as it would prevent access to the beach,' she said in a report by French newspaper Metro News.

Talks between the French authorities and representatives for the Saudi royal family about the best security arrangements are set to continue.

Royalty: The family, headed by King Salman, owns the villa in Vallauris in the Cote d'Azur, near Cannes