As Princess Beatrice celebrates her 36th birthday today, expectations are high for some lavish gifts.Certainly, her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi might shower her with beautiful presents, but none may top the extraordinary gift once bestowed upon her by her late grandmother, the Queen.
Renowned for pampering her grandchildren, the Queen gifted both Prince William and Prince Harry opulent homes when they wed.Beatrice, along with her sister Princess Eugenie, also received such generosity from Her Majesty.
In 1997, the Queen is rumoured to have acquired Birch Hall, a grand seven-bedroom Georgian mansion in Surrey, as a gift for the young princesses, then aged seven and nine.The estate, complete with a tennis court, swimming pool, and an additional two-bedroom house within its five-acre grounds, would have made a dream residence for the princesses and their mother, Sarah Ferguson.
Yet, Beatrice and Eugenie did not take up residence there and the property remained unoccupied for two years. That was reportedly due to Ferguson's reluctance to move in, citing unaffordable costs for maintenance.
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