The lives of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are currently shrouded in uncertainty, largely due to the public disgrace of their parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, stemming from connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. While Beatrice was recently observed visiting her parents at the Royal Lodge after Prince Andrew relinquished his Duke of York title, Eugenie has maintained a lower profile. Both princesses appear to be actively distancing themselves from their parents as the scandal continues to unfold, evidenced by their increasingly infrequent visits to the Royal Lodge, the 30-room residence they once called home.

Prince Andrew is currently facing immense pressure to vacate the Royal Lodge. It has been suggested that he had intended for the property to remain within the family, specifically planning to bequeath it to his daughters. This potential loss of the Royal Lodge represents another instance of the princesses missing out on a significant inheritance, a pattern previously observed with a grand Surrey estate.

In 1997, the princesses were gifted a substantial £1.5 million seven-bedroom Georgian mansion known as Birch Hall, located in Surrey. This Grade II-listed property was purchased by trustees acting on behalf of their late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, following Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew's divorce in 1996, as reported by the Mirror.

However, despite the generous gift, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie never actually took up residence in Birch Hall. Their mother, Sarah Ferguson, was reportedly concerned about her inability to afford the substantial maintenance and running costs associated with such a large estate. Consequently, the family continued to reside together at Sunninghill Park, Sarah and Prince Andrew's former marital home.

The Surrey estate, nestled in the picturesque village of Windlesham, remained vacant for two years after its purchase before being sold in 1999 for the same price of £1.5 million. It was subsequently listed for sale again in 2016 for a significantly higher price of £4.2 million by the private buyers who had acquired it from the royal trustees.

Birch Hall boasts impressive features, including seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, and five reception rooms. It is set within five acres of extensive grounds, featuring expansive lawns, a tennis court, its own outdoor heated swimming pool, and a separate two-bedroom staff cottage. The subsequent owners further enhanced the property by adding a media and games room, an orangery, and a home gymnasium.

When the property was marketed in 2016, Andrew Russell from estate agents Strutt and Parker commented to the Daily Mail on its exceptional qualities. He described it as “probably one of the very best of north Surrey’s village houses,” emphasizing its rarity on the market. Russell highlighted its status as a “proper country house with five acres of grounds,” noting the dramatic rooms with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling sash windows, alongside the swimming pool, tennis court, and beautiful Victorian-era specimen trees in the garden. He further confirmed the royal connection, stating, “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.” Russell also detailed the renovations undertaken by the subsequent owners, including reconfiguring the staircase, updating the entire house, and repositioning the kitchen to overlook the garden and swimming pool.

Currently, Princess Beatrice resides in a £3.5 million farmhouse located in the Cotswolds with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and their children. Princess Eugenie, on the other hand, divides her time between Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace and her primary residence in Portugal.