Looking Back at Queen Elizabeth’s Houses, From Her Birthplace to Balmoral

When she was born, Queen Elizabeth’s house was a dwelling in London’s Mayfair neighborhood that was relatively modest, compared to the grand residences where she spent her later years. Though most monarchs live their entire lives in castles and palaces, the late queen was not born expecting to ascend to the throne. In fact, she was the first British monarch born in a private home. Her early days were spent living in grand but not technically palatial surroundings, and she had a somewhat normal childhood until her father unexpectedly became king in 1936. From her birthplace to her beloved Balmoral, where she died peacefully at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022, AD looks back at the many houses of Queen Elizabeth II.

17 Bruton Street

The exterior of 17 Bruton Street, the birthplace of Queen Elizabeth II.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, at the Mayfair home of her maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. Her parents had moved into the town house several weeks before her birth and would remain there for several months. The original house was demolished in the 1930s.

White Lodge

The Royal Ballet School (formerly White Lodge), in Richmond Park.

After their wedding, the Duke and Duchess of York (Elizabeth’s parents, before they became king and queen) lived at White Lodge in Richmond, England, at the suggestion of Queen Mary, who grew up in the home. While she was born in London, White Lodge is listed as her parent’s address on Princess Elizabeth’s birth certificate. In 1927, the couple gave up the home, which was originally built in 1627 as a hunting lodge for George II by architect Roger Morris. In 1954, the building was acquired as the new home of the Royal Ballet School’s junior section.

145 Piccadilly

145 Piccadilly in London before it was destroyed during World War II.

Later in 1926, the family would move into a Georgian home at 145 Piccadilly. In her book, The Little Princesses, the future monarch’s nanny, Marion Crawford, described the five-story building near Hyde Park Corner as “a homelike and unpretentious household.” According to a 1921 advertisement in Country Life magazine, the home, which it called “an important mansion,” had an “entrance hall, principal staircase hall, a secondary staircase with eclectic passenger lift, drawing room, dining room, ballroom, study, library, about 25 bedrooms [and a] conservatory.” Hamilton Garden, a small park shared by the residents of neighboring buildings, was located in the back of the house and was used daily by the future queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, for play. The family moved out in 1936 and the property was badly damaged in 1940 during a WWII bombing.

The Royal Lodge

Princess Elizabeth (right) and Princess Margaret at the Royal Lodge in 1942.

Later, while living at 145 Piccadilly, the family would spend weekends at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. The Grade II–listed property has a rich history dating back to the mid-17th century, with additions built by architects such as John Nash and Jeffry Wyattville. Much of the building was demolished by King William IV in the 1830s, but the conservatory remained a residence. The lodge was expanded in the 1930s by the future King George VI. The family continued to visit after moving to Buckingham Palace, and Marion Crawford noted, “At Royal Lodge, court etiquette was forgotten, and ceremony left behind… We had all our meals together and went for picnics, and above all, we gardened.”

Y Bwthyn Bach

A nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth at Y Bwthyn Bach, or the Little House, situated in the garden of the Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, England.

Set on the grounds of the Royal Lodge, Y Bwthyn Bach is a playhouse given to Princess Elizabeth by the people of Wales for her sixth birthday. Also known as the Little House, the miniature cottage was outfitted with a gas stove, electricity, plumbing, and petite oak furniture modeled after pieces in the National Museum of Wales. “She still likes to come back and visit,” the queen’s granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, said in 2012. “I've been lucky enough to play here, and now Granny’s a great-granny, so now [the great-grandchildren] can enjoy it too.”

Birkhall

Today, Birkhall is used by King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.

This 18th-century home near Balmoral was used as a holiday retreat for the duke and duchess of York and the princesses. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip would later stay at the 6,000-acre estate during the summer with their young children.

Buckingham Palace

An exterior view of Buckingham Palace in London.

Princess Elizabeth moved into Buckingham Palace in 1936 when her father became king. The building, initially a town house built in 1703, was purchased by King George III for Queen Charlotte in 1761. It became the official London residence of the royal family in 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne. Architects John Nash and Edward Blore enlarged the palace during the 19th century, and the iconic façade was remodeled in the early 20th century. King Charles II was born at the residence in 1948.

The Palace boasts 775 rooms, including 19 staterooms, 52 bedrooms for the royals and their guests, 188 staff bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, and 92 offices. After she became queen in 1952, Elizabeth used the palace as her permanent residence until 2020, when she moved to Windsor Castle full-time. In 1962, she added the Queen’s Gallery (now known as the King’s Gallery) to the Palace, so that visitors can view a rotating selection of art from the Royal Collection. She also approved plans for an extensive, ongoing renovation of Buckingham, which began in 2018 and is set to be completed in 2027.

Clarence House

Princess Elizabeth’s sitting room on the first floor of Clarence House in London in 1949.

Following her wedding to the duke of Edinburgh in 1947, the princess used Clarence House, a residence built between 1825 and 1827 and designed by architect John Nash, as her and her husband’s London home. The couple began their marriage and family in the home, and the princess gave birth to her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, there in 1950. Following the queen’s ascension, Clarence House became home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret, and in 2003 became the London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (now King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort) and a bachelor Prince William. It still serves as the king’s primary dwelling.

Villa Guardamangia

The exterior of Villa Guardamangia in Malta.

From 1949 to 1951, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip split their time between the UK and Malta, where the prince was stationed as a naval officer. Villa Guardamangia was built in 1900 and later leased to the prince’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten (The Crown fans may know him as Uncle Dickie). The home, which spans about 16,000 square feet, is the only place outside of the UK where the queen ever lived. Though it has since fallen into disrepair, the estate featured a grand hall with a fireplace, ornate wrought-iron balconies, and separate apartments for the prince and princess. The residence provided Elizabeth with “comparative privacy and freedom from official duties,” according to biographer Ben Pimlott. That period was arguably the “most ‘normal’ of her entire life,” he wrote in The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II. The Maltese government purchased the home for $5 million when it went on the market in 2019 and announced plans to restore it.

Windlesham Moor

An aerial view of Windlesham Moor.

Between 1947 and 1949, Princess Elizabeth and her husband rented ​​Windlesham Moor, a furnished country house on 58 acres in Surrey. According to Country Living, the Victorian home had five bedrooms, a 50-foot drawing room, a study, a games room, and a nursery made up of two guest rooms.

Sandringham

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene on Queen Elizabeth II’s Sandringham Estate.

The Queen and her family spent Christmases at Sandringham, a 20,000-acre country estate located in Norfolk, about 100 miles north of London. The property has been in the Windsor family since 1862, when it was purchased by the future King Edward VII, who rebuilt the house with the help of architect A.J. Humbert and, later, Robert William Edis. It houses portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by German painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Spanish tapestries by Francisco Goya, and a 19th-century bowling alley. The estate was privately owned by the queen, who passed it down to King Charles upon her death.

Windsor Castle

King Charles III (far right), Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Edward on the lawn of Windsor Castle.

Before making it her residence in 2020, the Queen would spend weekends, as well as a month over the Easter holiday and a week in June, at Windsor Castle. Originally built by William I in the 11th century, the castle is the largest occupied castle in the world. It spans 484,000 square feet, with over 1,000 rooms and over 300 fireplaces. While many monarchs have made their mark on the property, George IV and his architect Jeffry Wyatville added many of the iconic Gothic features, as well as the grand Waterloo chamber. The queen was interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel, a 14th-century structure located on the castle grounds, which serves as “one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe,” as Dr. Richard Williams, learning curator at Royal Collection Trust, told AD in 2024. Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I, Edward VII, and Queen Mary are just a few of the other royals who are buried there.

Hillsborough Castle

The exterior of Hillsborough Castle in Ireland.

Set in the northwest of County Down, Hillsborough Castle was Queen Elizabeth's house in Northern Ireland. The Georgian country home was built in the 18th century and later sold to the British government in 1922.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse was the queen’s official residence in Scotland. The palace was originally a monastery founded in 1128 and was the home of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her Majesty would spend one week there each summer, usually from the end of June to the beginning of July.

Balmoral Castle

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh with their children, Prince Andrew (centre), Princess Anne (left), and King Charles III outside Balmoral.

Located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Balmoral is where the queen spent her summers, usually staying from July until early October. Tucked alongside the River Dee, the 50,000-acre property was purchased in 1852 by Prince Albert, who demolished the original castle after a new Scottish Baronial one was completed in 1856. The castle is the site of the Ghillies Ball, a summer tradition that dates back to 1852. That year, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert invited their staff to end the summer with a celebration at their new castle. Since then, the royals have continued the tradition, inviting friends, neighbors, and staff to attend the dance. Hunting is another favored royal pastime at Balmoral; the family traditionally hunts grouse there in August.

The estate, which was Queen Elizabeth’s private property, was considered by many to be her favorite, and she died there surrounded by family on September 8, 2022. When King Charles III inherited Balmoral after his mother’s death, it was valued at an estimated $118 million. “I think Granny is the most happy there,” Princess Eugenie said of the queen’s fondness towards the historic estate. “I think she really, really loves the Highlands. Walks, picnics, dogs—a lot of dogs, there's always dogs. And people coming in and out all the time.”