When I wrote about Jennifer Aniston’s $40,000-a-month rental yesterday, the Pity Party Patrol came out in full force to claim that Brangelina NEVER gets the kind of mild criticism Aniston ENDURES for their respective excesses. I beg to differ – we always cover Brangelina’s real estate rumors, especially when the alleged purchases/rentals are crazy and/or expensive. Most recently, we discussed the rumor that Angelina Jolie bought Brad a motherchucking WATERFALL for his birthday. We also discussed the possible real estate purchases/rentals that the Jolie-Pitts might be undertaking in England, as the family settles down so Angelina can film Maleficent. Now E! News reports that the early reports (that the Jolie-Pitts bought a UK mansion outright) are false, and they are in fact renting a big mansion. I’m including some of the aerial photos below, and here’s E!’s story:

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt just snapped up one fancy rental home. While the betrothed actors didn’t buy the Whornes Place estate in London, it turns out the über-famous couple is temporarily residing in another “palatial” home in the area. And it looks like they’re settling in.

Despite reports Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie forked over $16 million to reside in the Whornes Palace in the West London town of Richmond, E! News has learned exclusively the charitable pair is renting a huge mansion in one of the most “exclusive areas” in the United Kingdom.

“[Brad and Angelina] have decided to settle into one property rather than move around because they are going to be in London for 15 months,” a source told E! News. “It seems better for the whole family if they have a proper base. They have been moved into a palatial mansion that resembles the White House on the exclusive Wentworth golf course in Surrey. It is in a beautiful, gated community, one of the most exclusive areas in the U.K.”

But, Jolie and Pitt aren’t the first celebrities to reside in the stunning home, which sits 21 miles outside of London.

The estate has had its share of star-studded residents, including Elton John and Fergie, the Duchess of York.

And there’s plenty of room for Jolie to stretch her legs.

“The house has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms, staff quarters, a gazebo in the garden, an indoor swimming pool and a playground for the children,” the source said.

“They have also hired a full time chef.”

Meanwhile, there’s still no word yet on when the newly engaged pair, who moved into the home a week ago, will tie the knot.

But, their new digs certainly would make for one fine place for a wedding. We’re just sayin’.

[From E! News]

There’s no mention of how much this rental costs per month, but I can imagine that it would be in the tens of thousands (per month). I should also note this – considering Angelina is the big-name “star” of Maleficent and the studio wants to keep her happy, I’m guessing that the studio is probably paying for all or part of the Jolie-Pitts’ living expenses. I don’t know what Angelina has in her contracts – she might get a general “living allowance” stipend, or the studio might pay for everything flat-out.

(Sidenote: I’d still really like to know what happened to the converted farmhouse Angelina bought in England back in 2001. Did she sell it?)

By the way – Brangelina should be in the South of France within the next few days. Brad’s film is competing at the Cannes Film Festival. So… Brangelina red carpet sighting! It will be Angelina’s first red carpet with her engagement ring.

Real estate photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and archive images of Brangelina in England courtesy of WENN.