Princess Beatrice's lavish £1.5m gift from late Queen that Fergie made her give back
When Princess Beatrice was just nine years old, she was given an expensive and lavish gift by her doting grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
Princess Beatrice was once gifted an iconic Grade II listed home in Surrey by the late Queen Elizabeth II, but the Princess was not able to live there.
The beautiful property named Birch Hall was given as a present from the late Queen to both Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie.
The Surrey-based home was a pad many would dream of and included seven bedrooms, five acres of land, an outdoor heated swimming pool, and even a tennis court.
The late Queen instructed that the home be bought by trustees on behalf of the Queen, but Fergie ended up declining the offer, as she was reportedly concerned about running costs.
Instead, the family continued to live together at Sunninghill Park and then Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew moved to Royal Lodge in Windsor where they both currently reside.
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After the rejection of Birch Hall, it was sold in 1999 and estate agents said it was "due to a change of circumstance" as reported by the Sun. It is thought the money from the sale was placed in a trust for Eugenie and Beatrice to use when they were older.
In 2016, Birch Hall was listed on the market for £4.2million, after being renovated with even more jaw-dropping features than it originally had. Its latest owners added a media and games room, an orangery, and a home gym.
Andrew Russell from estate agency Strutt and Parker told the Daily Mail: "The owners bought it from the trustees acting for the Queen in 1999. The trustees bought it in 1997 for the princesses and I imagine it was chosen because it's a pretty house in a popular village and the gardens are a real draw, it's more like parkland. But they never moved in."
Since getting married in 2020, Princess Beatrice, who turns 36 today, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 40, have lived in a four-bed apartment in St James's Palace, with two-year-old daughter Sienna and Edoardo's son, Wolfie.
The duo purchased a sprawling farmhouse in the Cotswolds for a reported £3.5m, two years ago, which they have been renovating.
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Birch Hall in the village Windlesham in Surrey. Built in 1740. Brought by the current Queen in 1997 for Sarah, Duchess of York and her two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. Though they never lived here as it was too expensive for them to upkeep. Brought back in 1999. pic.twitter.com/DbJ2jcdk0a
— RoyalBritainandWorld (@royalbritain1) November 7, 2021
When Birch Hall went up for sale in 2016, the estate agent also explained how it was the "best of north Surrey's village houses". He added: "There's not that many that come on the market. It's a proper country house with five acres of grounds.
"The house itself is a very attractive and imposing-looking property. Some of the rooms are really quite dramatic, with high ceilings and full floor-to-ceiling sash windows."
"It's got a swimming pool, tennis court and beautiful specimen trees dating from Victorian times in the garden."
He also explained how its owners had renovated: "They reconfigured the staircase and updated the house throughout, moving the kitchen so it overlooks the garden and swimming pool."
