Queen Elizabeth gifted her granddaughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, a lovely Grade II-listed home in Surrey, which was valued at $2 million (£1.5 million). But, the royal sisters, the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, never lived in the house.
Hello revisited why Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie seemingly rejected the Queen's gift. Apparently, their mother, the Duchess of York, was worried about the upkeep of the seven-bedroom property since the York sisters were just about 10 and 9 years old when they got this house.
This property is known as Birch Hall, a Georgian mansion with its own tennis court, home gym, heated swimming pool, and five living rooms. Birch Hall, also, had a two-bedroom cottage for the staff's use or as a guest house.
According to AOL, Birch Hall was part of the divorce settlement between the Duke and Duchess of York in 1996. Since no one was going to use the house, the York ex-couple decided to sell the mansion with the proceeds going to a trust fund for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The princesses lived with their mother after Fergie's divorce from Prince Andrew. The York ladies stayed at the marital home in Sunninghill Park until Prince Andrew and Fergie decided to sell this property as well and it went to a billionaire who rebuilt a new house.
In 2008, Prince Andrew and Fergie agreed to co-parent their daughters and live together as friends at the 30-room Royal Lodge, the official home of the Duke of York. This property was a gift from the Queen Mother to Prince Andrew in 2003. The Royal Lodge was used as a guest accommodation during the Royal Ascot, well before the Yorks moved in to make this their permanent home.
But, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have their own houses now that they are adults. Eugenie shares the Ivy Cottage in Kensington Palace with her husband Jack Brooksbank, while Beatrice has a house in St. James's Palace.
Princess Beatrice also stays at her new husband's family home in Chipping Norton. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi lives with his mother in a country home, where the newlyweds have, apparently, been isolating during the coronavirus lockdown.
Once in awhile, the York sisters also stay at the Royal Lodge, especially during this pandemic crisis. Princess Eugenie and her husband mostly stayed with her parents during the lockdown and Princess Beatrice often visited as well.
