Inside Prince Andrew’s palatial Royal Lodge: BRIAN HOEY reveals how it was the beloved retreat of the Queen Mother, a playground for young Princess Elizabeth and the host for Margaret’s engagement photos

It has been the home of kings and queens and the playground of a future monarch.

Royal Lodge – which is now in the spotlight amid current resident Prince Andrew’s alleged refusal to move – has existed in its current form since the 19th century.

Located on 98 acres in Windsor Great Park, the property was once known as King’s Lodge, but the name was changed by the Duke of Cumberland when he became King George IV in 1820.

William IV demolished part of the Royal Lodge and for sixty years senior members of the Royal House used it mainly as a ‘house of grace and favours’.

In 1931, King George V gave permission to his son, Prince Albert, the Duke of York, and his wife to take over the property and they moved the following year.

They used the 30-room Royal Lodge as a private country house even after they became Duke and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1936.

Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret spent many happy days playing in the grounds and using Y Bwthyn Bach – the miniature thatched cottage given to the future Queen by the people of Wales on the occasion of her sixth birthday in 1932.

Royal Lodge – now in the spotlight amid the alleged refusal of current resident Prince Andrew (pictured riding a horse in the grounds of his home earlier this month) to move – has existed in its current form since the 19th century

Photos taken last month show paintwork chipping and cracks appearing in the walls of Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge home

After the death of George VI in 1952, the Queen Mother continued to live at the Royal Lodge at weekends until her death in 2002.

Her grandson Prince Andrew, the current Duke of York, has lived there since 2004. His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, love the place as much as he does.

Andrew – who now lives in the property with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson – signed a 75-year lease with the Crown Estate when he moved in and made an initial payment of £1 million.

The agreement included a notional rent of £260,000 per annum.

Andrew – who remains an outcast from public life amid the fallout from his relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – has spent almost £7million carrying out extensive renovations and repairs to the property.

He has rejected all his brother’s requests to move to the smaller Frogmore Cottage.

George VI with his family in the Queen Mother’s beautiful gardens at Royal Lodge

From the early 1820s it was called the Royal Lodge. Above: An image of the lodge from 1823

The Grade II listed building in Windsor Great Park in 1937

A general view of the Royal Lodge at Windsor in April 1942

In 1960, Princess Margaret’s engagement photos to her husband-to-be Anthony Armstrong-Jones were taken at Royal Lodge.

The gardens reflect the character of the late Queen Mother, who spent many hours there.

She did not change the entire 98 hectares, but concentrated on the 30 hectares surrounding Royal Lodge, which she preferred to call her personal garden.

The royally landscaped paths lined with hedges and trees and beautiful flower beds containing all her favorites, such as Azaleas – her specific favorites.

The garden became an oasis of peace and tranquility, where she spent countless hours and days, sometimes accompanied by the then Prince Charles.

As his transformation of Highgrove House proves, he has always shared his grandmother’s passion for flowers and plants.

The Queen Mother at a window in the small Welsh house in the grounds of the Royal Lodge

Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret on their bicycles in the grounds of Royal Lodge, April 1942

Also in the grounds of the Royal Lodge is Y Bwthyn Bach (the literal translation is the little house), which was a gift to six-year-old Princess Elizabeth in 1932.

Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret outside Y Bwthyn Bach in 1933

The Queen Mother focused on the 30 hectares surrounding the Royal Lodge, which she preferred to call her personal garden, creating paths lined with hedges, trees and beautiful flower beds. Above: King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret sit in the garden of Royal Lodge, 1946

The Queen Mother’s Drawing Room at Royal Lodge, 1981

Princess Margaret’s official engagement photos were taken in the grounds of Royal Lodge. Above: With husband-to-be Anthony Armstrong-Jones when their engagement was announced in 1960

Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones pose at Royal Lodge after announcing their engagement, February 27, 1960

Princess Beatrice looking beautiful in the Queen’s dress on her wedding day at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor in 2020

Sarah Ferguson poses at Royal Lodge. Behind her you can see the beautiful gardens

Prince Andrew and Fergie have preferred to reorganize the interior of the house, making it more modern and contemporary.

There is a majestic drawing room and dining room and beautiful arched Gothic windows.

However, the shelves are said to be stocked with Sarah’s collection of new teapots.

The grounds of Royal Lodge include a gardener’s cottage and the Royal Chapel of All Saints, where Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi were married in 2020 in a ceremony attended by the late Queen and Prince Philip.

There is also a swimming pool and a tennis court.

If the King has his way, Andrew will have to give up these pleasures for the more modest surroundings of Frogmore Cottage or another property.

If rumors are to be believed, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their young family could be the next residents of Royal Lodge.