Perfect for a 'downsized monarchy'? Meet the beautiful (but rather cramped) model house built especially for Princess Elizabeth's sixth birthday…

Princess Beatrice calls it 'the most glamorous Wendy house ever' and for more than 90 years it has been the playhouse for four generations of royal children.

'Y Bwthyn Bach' (The Little House), a sixth birthday gift from the people of Wales to the future Elizabeth II, is hidden from view at the south end of Prince Andrew's home, the Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park.

Designed by architect Edmund Willmott as a playhouse in the style of a Welsh cottage, the gift showcased the skills of Welsh craftsmen at a time when the mining communities of the valleys suffered more unemployment than any other part of Britain during the depression of the United States. early thirties.

The two-thirds scale thatched cottage was built using stone left over from the construction of Llandough Hospital in the Vale of Glamorgan, which was completed in 1933.

It was 7 meters long and 2.5 meters deep and consisted of four rooms 1.80 meters high: a kitchen and a 'siamber fach' or small room downstairs, with a bedroom and bathroom upstairs.

The interior walls were cream and the curtains and carpet were a matching blue.

The house has fully functioning hot and cold running water, heated towel rail and electricity.

It included a wireless set (complete with licence) capable of tuning in to foreign channels, as well as a Magnet gas cooker, a refrigerator and a washing machine with a mangle. There was even a working telephone.

The future queen's linen had the initial 'E' embroidered on it and her miniature blue and gold tableware set was displayed in an oak chest of drawers.

The Princess's grandmother, Queen Mary, saw a smaller oak cabinet on display at the British Industry's Fair in Olympia.

It was only 45 centimeters high and nevertheless contained 172 pieces of cutlery and silverware from Sheffield. The house also contained a complete set of Beatrix Potter books, pots and pans, food tins, brooms, a packet of Epsom salts and a portrait of the Duchess of York – mother of Princess Elizabeth – above the oak mantelpiece.

The house also had its own front garden with small-scale hedges and flower beds. There was also a kennel for a real Welsh Terrier puppy named Lanto, who came with the cottage.

The house – which was built in Wales before being transported to Lodnon – was presented to Elizabeth's parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, on March 16, 1932, during their visit to Greyfriars Hall, Cardiff.

Elizabeth wasn't there because her parents wanted to keep it as a surprise birthday present.

The keys were handed over to the royal couple by schoolgirl Jean Blake, daughter of plumber and engineer William Blake, who helped build the house on behalf of the Princess Elizabeth Model House Committee.

In 2012, the Mail on Sunday tracked Jean down in Ontario, Canada, and she recalled: “It was lucky that I was actually chosen.

'I was the same age, Princess Elizabeth and my father had installed all the plumbing and electricity in the cottage and knew the architect who designed it.

'The highlight for me was running around in a toy car that was also given to Princess Elizabeth. There was some space in the back and a little puppy inside, another gift from the people of Wales.

'It was very difficult for adults, especially men, to get into the house easily, but the Duke of York ducked down and looked around. I don't remember what I said to them, but I do know that they were impressed with the house.'

The Duchess of York was typically effusive about the gift, stating:

'It's simply beautiful. Why I could play in it myself. I had no idea it was that big. I thought it was a dollhouse and I had a big surprise when I discovered that I could actually live in it myself!'

The Duchess enjoyed turning on the hot and cold water, switching on the electric lights and using the telephone.

The house came with its own deed and fortunately on February 17, 1932, building insurance was also taken out in the name of Princess Elizabeth of York.

That turned out to be fortunate, because when it was being transported on a steam engine-drawn low loader to be taken to London for display at the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition, the thatching of the cottage caught fire.

Sixty percent of the cottage was damaged, including the thatched roof and much of the top floor.

The Daily Mail flew the architect Edmund Willmott to London, where he oversaw a team of twenty Welsh craftsmen who worked day and night in Hammersmith to restore it in time for it to go on display. The final cost for the repairs was £1,100.

After Y Bwythn Bach, complete with Lanto and his kennel, were exhibited at Olympia, the Princess and her sister Margaret were finally allowed to play with the cottage which was built and decorated by some of the same team of Welsh workmen at the Royal Lodge.

It provided them and their friends with years of enjoyment, as a childhood playmate, Myra Butter, later recalled: “Oh, how we loved it. It was wonderful, a charming little place. The great thing about Princess Margaret was that she would run up and down the stairs and unplug the little toilet that worked.'

Adults, who had to wait to receive an invitation to visit, were less enthusiastic, as the Queen Mother recalled on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

'You can imagine the children! I prepared the most horrible meals there – horrors – that you have to eat.”

The house has been featured in numerous TV documentaries.

In 1980, the Queen watched anxiously as her three-year-old grandson Peter Phillips ran in, poured imaginary tea into cups and ran into the miniature grandfather clock.

At the time, the deeds had been transferred to Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones, daughter of Princess Margaret.

In 2008 they were passed on to Princess Beatrice, who, like her grandmother, was the eldest of two Princesses of York. Beatrice oversaw a restoration plan, paid for by her father, which included a new light green and cream color scheme, new curtains and soft furnishings, new wiring and a new thatched roof. The princess also added her own teddy bears to the downstairs sofa.

Speaking to journalist Andrew Marr about the documentary The Diamond Queen, she revealed that the Queen was still a regular visitor at the time and had been consulted about the renovation.

'She still likes to come back… Grandma was very clear that despite all the fabrics, she wanted very few designs. It's such a small house that she wanted little flowers and patterns.'

“Grandma and her sister played here growing up. And we've been lucky enough to play here, along with cousins. It's a real family treat.

It is beautiful. I've been lucky enough to play here and now grandma is a great-grandmother, so now Savannah [Peter Phillips’s daughter] can enjoy it too.'

Twelve years after that interview, her own daughter Sienna and her sister Eugenie's sons Augustus and Ernest will be the latest generation of royal children to enjoy the delights of “the most glamorous Wendy house ever.”