When you think of homes owned by the Royal Family, the first few that spring to mind are likely Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace. But what about the others? The Royal Family owns homes, castles and palaces all over the country with many of them being bought with private funds.

One such home is located in a secluded corner of Richmond Park in West London and was bought by the late Queen’s first cousin, Princess Alexandra, and her husband Angus Ogilvy after their wedding in 1963 and was where the couple raised their two children, James and Marina.

Thatched House Lodge has a fascinating backstory steeped in London’s royal history and is where Princess Alexandra continues to live today after she was widowed on Boxing Day in 2004.

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The Grade-II listed property sits in a far corner of Richmond Park and was originally built as two houses in 1673 for park keepers. It was then changed to serve as a grace-and-favour home for various members of the Royal Family.

Nestled among four acres of land, the stunning mansion has been home to Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy since 1963, who previously shared it with her late husband Sir Angus Ogilvy and their two children, James and Marina.

In the same year that the couple moved in, their home was targeted by burglars who reportedly stole £6,000 and a number of valuable possessions. Among the stolen goods were many wedding presents – including a gold cigarette case given to Sir Angus by The late Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

Although she still keeps an apartment at St James’s Palace in-line with royal tradition, The Queen’s cousin continues to live in Richmond and has previously recorded charitable messages from there. Princess Alexandra’s home is thought to include six reception rooms and six bedrooms. There is also a separate 18th-century two-room summer house, a gardener’s cottage and stables.

On April 24, 1963, the princess married Angus James Bruce Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey. Their ceremony was attended by several members of the Royal Family and was watched by an estimated audience of 200 million people. Her brother accompanied her from Kensington Palace and walked her down the aisle, closely followed by her bridesmaids, one of whom was Princess Anne. The happy couple soon welcomed their two children, James and Marina.

James Robert Bruce Ogilvy was born at the family home of Thatched House Lodge in Richmond on February 29, 1964 and was soon joined by younger sister Marina Victoria Alexandra Ogilvy on July 31, 1966.

Through her two children, Princess Alexandra has four grandchildren. James married Julia Rawlinson in Essex on July 30, 1988 and had a daughter Flora Alexandra Vesterberg in 1994 and Alexander Charles Ogilvy in 1996.

Marina married Paul Mowatt on February 2, 1990 and the couple share two children, Zenouska May Mowatt was born in 1990 as Marina was pregnant during her wedding and Christian Alexander Mowatt completed the family in 1993. Marina and Paul divorced in 1997.

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