Thatched House Lodge is a Grade II-listed building, dating from the 17th century, in Richmond Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England. It was the home of British prime minister Sir Robert Walpole and, since 1963, has been a royal residence, being leased from the Crown Estate by Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (born Princess Alexandra of Kent), and, until his death in 2004, her husband, Sir Angus Ogilvy. The main house has six reception rooms and six bedrooms, and it stands in of grounds. The property includes gardens, an 18th-century two-room thatched summer house which gave the main house its name, a gardener's cottage, stabling and other buildings. History The residence was originally built as two houses in 1673 for two Richmond Park Keepers, as Aldridge Lodge. It was enlarged, possibly by William Kent, in 1727 as a home for Sir Robert Walpole. The two houses were joined in 1771 by Sir John Soane and renamed Thatched House Lodge. It had also been known as Burkitt's Lodge. The house was used as a grace-and-favour residence by various members of the Royal Household including General Sir Edward Bowater, and General Lynedoch Gardiner, respectively equerry to Albert, Prince Consort and to Queen Victoria. Sir Frederick Treves retired to the house after he successfully operated on King Edward VII's appendix in 1902. Edward VII awarded use of the house to Sir Edmund Monson on his retirement from Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1905. Thatched House Lodge ceased to be a grace and favour property in 1927. Thatched House Lodge was the home of Wing Commander Sir Louis Greig (equerry to King George VI when he was Duke of York), who was deputy Ranger of Richmond Park from 1932. It was then acquired by the 5th Duke of Sutherland. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was allotted a suite there during the Second World War. Leasehold details The house was acquired on the open market by Angus Ogilvy through the purchase in 1963 of a sublease of the property from Clare, Duchess of Sutherland; he subsequently purchased the leasehold. The asking price for the sublease was £150,000, a considerable amount at the time. The property was held on a lease from the Crown Estate. In 1994, the Crown Estate granted Ogilvy an extension of the lease, to run for 150 years from 1994. Under the 1994 lease, a