The Queen celebrated her 94th birthday on Tuesday and to mark the special occasion, the official Buckingham Palace Instagram account shared some lovely photos of the monarch from over the years. These included a picture of the then Princess Elizabeth as a little girl, standing by her custom-made playhouse in her garden at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. The garden was filled with flowers, and Elizabeth stood proudly in front of the miniature home in the image, which had been given to her on her sixth birthday in 1932. The caption alongside the photograph read: "For Princess Elizabeth's sixth birthday in 1932, the people of Wales gave her a miniature thatched cottage, installed in the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor."
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The Queen grew up in Royal Lodge as a little girl and was given a wendy house on her sixth birthday
The thatched cottage has been enjoyed by the younger generations of the royal family too. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie grew up in Royal Lodge with their parents Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson – who remain living there now despite separating. Beatrice has previously opened up about the playhouse in 2012 on the BBC's three-part series The Diamond Queen in an episode called The Little House, where she described it as "the most glamorous wendy house ever".
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie lived at Royal Lodge as children and enjoyed playing in the same wendy house
In the documentary, Beatrice invited presenter Andrew Marr inside the miniature house, telling him: "Granny and her sister played here growing up and they were lucky enough to play here, and cousins and second cousins. It was a big family treat." She added: "It's the most glamorous wendy house ever and it's really beautiful. And what you're seeing now is it after a year's renovation. It's had a bit of a spruce up really."
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The Queen still enjoys going back to her beloved playhouse even now. Beatrice explained: "I understand now she likes to come back and visit and it's wonderful that we can have, say Granny's a great-grandmother now, so we can have Savannah come and play in here now as well. And her other great-grandchildren." Since the documentary was made, the monarch has welcomed many more great-grandchildren, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who too will have enjoyed playing in the house.
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