Childhood homes of royal brides

The lead up to the Royal Wedding on Friday has been highly entertaining for an Anglophile like me.  My favorite online source for royal information, www.dailymail.co.uk, has hour by hour updates on all things related to the wedding (and a page devoted to all wedding related news - www.dailymail.co.uk/home/royalwedding/index.html), and the on demand section of my cable system is packed full of royalty related shows from the past decade. 

Yesterday I watched a biography of Sarah, Duchess of York, and saw a picture of her childhood home, Dummer Down Farm.  What a beautiful house – it is classic, yet also has its own unique flair.  I am drawn to the symmetry of the design, and the attractive garden in the front.  I would be interested in seeing this house in its larger context, because the large front lawn with no apparent driveway is a bit confusing out of context. A quick search revealed that it available for rent.

Seeing Sarah's childhood home got me curious about some of the other childhood homes of royal brides.  I could not find anything on Sophie Wessex's childhood home, but there was some good information on Diana, Princess of Wales' childhood home. I had always assumed Diana was raised at Althorp, but it turns out that she was born at Park House, and spent her childhood here (seen above). Park House is on the Queen’s Sandringham estate (the Spencer family leased the house). When Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer in 1975, he inherited Althorp, but by that time Diana was in boarding school.

 

It was interesting to learn that in recent years, the Queen has allowed a charity to use the house as a hotel for people with disabilities. http://www.parkhousehotel.org.uk/

Kate Middleton’s family home in Bucklebury has been in the news of late, and it is a beautiful five bedroom house that appears to be set in a bucolic meadow.  According to my research, Kate’s family moved into this house when she was 13 years old.   I am intrigued by the many windows in the back of the house, and it seems as if there is a great connection between the house and its landscape.

This house, called 'West View' and described as a modest four bedroom Victorian house, is where Kate lived from birth until age 13.  According to news reports, it is going to be auctioned on June 3 (source).

Architecture, houses, and royalty – it’s always great to pull together some of my favorite things in one blog post!  Do you have a favorite out of these homes?  I must admit to being  captivated by the exterior of Sarah Ferguson's childhood home. In the meantime, I am counting down until the Royal Wedding, and plan on starting my day at 4 am when BBC’s coverage begins.  Are you planning on watching the wedding on Friday? 

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