Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were gifted a massive home in Surrey by the late Queen in 1997. But their mother, Sarah Ferguson, reportedly rejected the gift from the Queen on the Princesses’ behalf.
The Grade II-listed property named Birch Hall was purchased by trustees acting on behalf of the late Queen. However, the Princesses never actually moved in after their mother, the Duchess of York, reportedly worried she would not be able to afford the upkeep and running costs.
Instead, the family continued to live at Sarah and Prince Andrew’s former marital home, Sunninghill Park. 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.
The Georgian mansion stands on five acres of land with endless lawn space, a tennis court and its very own outdoor heated swimming pool, and a separate two-bedroom cottage for staff.
Its latest owners added in a media and games room, an orangery and a home gym. Birch Hall also has seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and five living rooms.
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Photos show the bedrooms to be very ostentatious, with massive bedposts overarching the king-sized beds. The lounge has three massive sofas forming a semi-circle with three corresponding massive windows.
The kitchen has a mahogany isle in the middle of the room, whilst the cupboards are decorated in cream and burgundy. The curtains on the kitchen windows are decorated with red flowers to match the interior of the room.
The large dining space could comfortably host 12 guests for dinner on their mahogany table with a gold chandelier from the ceiling.
The dining areas extend to a conservatory area where the owners can enjoy an indoor-to-outdoor feel. A media and games room features in the property where the previous owners have showcased an impressive collection of DVDs and a pool table.
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When the home went up for sale in 2016, Andrew Russell from estate agency Strutt and Parker said: “It’s probably one of the very best of north Surrey’s village houses, 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.”
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Speaking of its heritage, Andrew added: “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,” he told the Daily Mail.
Princess Beatrice currently has a residence at St James’ Palace in London which she shares with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and their one-year-old daughter, Sienna.
They also reportedly have a beautiful home in The Cotswolds, although no pictures have ever been shared of this property.
Princess Eugenie on the other hand is currently splitting her time between Portugal and London, as her husband Jack Brooksbank has a role as a Tequila ambassador out there.
Whilst in the UK, they lived at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, which was where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry previously lived as senior members of the Royal Family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex still pay rent at Frogmore, meaning that they are still the leaseholders of the property, despite spending most of their time out in California.
Eugenie, therefore, reportedly now stays at Nottingham Cottage when in London, along with Jack and their one-year-old son, August Brooksbank. Prince Harry also used to live in Nottingham Cottage, as it is just next door to Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s London abode.
