Her Majesty the Queen may be used to palaces and castles, but she was born in a slightly humbler property. Princess Elizabeth was born at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926, to parents King George VI and Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon.
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Many former royal homes get granted blue plaque status, but there are two key reasons that this London residence hasn't been given it. Firstly, the original property is no longer there. It is believed to have been torn down and the landscape of the street has now changed, with the 17 address now playing host to a Chinese restaurant and the offices of Berkeley Square House.
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Even if the property had remained standing, it wouldn't have been afforded blue plaque status – not yet anyway, as these commemorative features are only installed after someone has died.
Flat 60, Coleherne Court in London, for example, had a blue plaque installed to mark Princess Diana's former home before she moved in with Prince Charles.
There are two plaques on the street where the monarch was born
However, there are two large plaques on Bruton Street, explaining that the monarch was born on a property on the street, and these were added for previous jubilees. It is unknown whether another will be added to mark Her Majesty's platinum jubilee this year.
After the Queen's early years in Mayfair, her family moved into Buckingham Palace, but that's not where she has resided ever since as the monarch has actually lived in a few different homes.
Princess Diana's former residence has a blue plaque
For two years, Her Majesty and her husband Prince Philip even lived in Malta and Villa Guardamangia from 1949-1951.
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The monarch has also lived at Clarence House in the past and it was believed that she actually preferred this London residence to Buckingham Palace itself.
As reported by royal biographer Penny Junor in her book The Firm, the Queen wanted to remain living at Clarence House after her father's death, but it was, in fact, Sir Winston Churchill who strongly encouraged the move to Buckingham Palace.
It reads: "None of them wanted to go. They loved Clarence House; it was a family home, but Winston Churchill, who was then Prime Minister, insisted upon it."
The Queen's London residence, Buckingham Palace, is specactular
The Queen's unhappiness with moving from her first marital home to Buckingham Palace was also depicted in the Netflix show, The Crown.
The monarch now spends the majority of her time at Windsor Castle away from the bustle of central London and this is also where her beloved husband spent his final days before passing away on 9 April 2021.
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