Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were given a Grade II-listed Surrey mansion by their grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, but never lived there. Birch Hall, with seven bedrooms and five acres of grounds, was bought by trustees acting for the Queen as a gift for the young princesses.
A Grand Gift That Was Declined
The property boasted an outdoor heated swimming pool and a tennis court. However, Sarah Ferguson reportedly turned down the opportunity because of concerns over running costs. Instead, the family remained at Sunninghill Park before Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson later moved to Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Birch Hall was eventually sold in 1999, with estate agents citing a “change of circumstance”. The proceeds were reportedly placed in a trust for Beatrice and Eugenie to use when they were older.
Rising Value and Renovation
The property increased in value significantly. When Birch Hall returned to the market in 2016, it was listed at £4.2 million after extensive renovation by its owners. Improvements included a media and games room, an orangery and a home gym.
Andrew Russell of estate agency Strutt and Parker explained that the property had been bought from trustees acting for the Queen. “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,” he told the Daily Mail. “But they never moved in.”
A Different Family Home
When put up for sale, Birch Hall was described as one of the “best of north Surrey's village houses”. The property was praised for its rarity, with the agent noting that houses of its type rarely come to market. “It's a proper country house with five acres of grounds,” he said.
The house was described as imposing, with dramatic rooms featuring high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling sash windows. Its grounds included the swimming pool, tennis court, and mature specimen trees dating back to Victorian times. Later owners also reconfigured the staircase, updated the interior, and moved the kitchen to overlook the garden and swimming pool.
For Beatrice, the property could have represented a different family home. The Princess married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in 2020 and lives with him and their daughters, Sienna and Athena, as well as Edoardo's son, Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie. Beatrice and Edoardo later purchased a farmhouse in the Cotswolds for a reported £3.5 million, which they have been renovating. Birch Hall remains an example of the lavish property gifts once considered for members of the Royal Family – a home Beatrice and Eugenie ultimately never got to call their own.
