Queen bought Princess Beatrice very expensive present - but Fergie rejected it

24 July 2023 , 10:00

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Queen bought Princess Beatrice very expensive present - but Fergie rejected it

The late Queen Elizabeth made sure the family had some great gifts for special occasions. And our beloved former monarch used to to treat her grandchildren very well.

On Prince William and Prince Harry's wedding days, she gifted each grandson a house to mark the occasion.

Not wanting to favour some grandchildren over others, less senior royals also benefitted from her generosity, including her younger granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.

In 1997, she splashed out on the lavish Birch Hall for the girls. The Surrey mansion, which boasts seven bedrooms, was held for the sisters to use when they were older - as they were only seven and nine at the time.

The sisters received a stunning gift from their grandmother in 1997 (Getty Images)

Despite having the gorgeous Georgian property all to themselves, the sisters never actually moved into Birch Hall. In fact, it sat empty for two years.

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With a tennis court, a swimming pool and a separate two-bedroom house on the stunning estate, it could have made the perfect home for the girls and their mum, Sarah Ferguson.

But, according to the Mail, Fergie reportedly refused to move in, claiming she couldn't afford the huge upkeep costs.

Therefore, two years after The Queen purchased the lavish property, it was sold for £1.5 million, with the money reportedly being put into a trust for the sisters to access when they got older. According to estate agents, it was being sold due to a "change of circumstance."

More than 20 years ago the sisters received a lavish gift from their grandmother (UK Press via Getty Images)

The house was sold again in 2016 - for a whopping £4.2 million.

Speaking at the time of the second sale, estate agent Andrew Russell from Strutt & Parker told the Mail: "It is probably one of the very best of north Surrey's village houses, there's not many that come on the market.

"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.

"Every summer the owners have opened up the gardens for a charity event with picnics and a live band, so the house is quite prominent in the village.

"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."

Jessica Taylor