
Elizabeth’s Childhood Home 145 Piccadilly Was Bombed
In 1926, the future Queen’s family would move into a Georgian home at 145 Piccadilly. In her book, The Little Princesses, the nanny, Marion Crawford, described the five-story building near Hyde Park Corner as “a homelike and unpretentious household.” The mansion had an entrance hall, principal staircase hall, secondary staircase with eclectic passenger lift, drawing room, dining room, study library about 25 bedrooms and a conservatory.

Hamilton Garden, a small park shared by the residents of neighboring buildings, was located in the back of the house and was used daily by the future queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, for play. The family moved out in 1936 and the property was badly damaged in 1940 during a WWII bombing. The former 145 Piccadilly is at No. 1 Hamilton Place, the site of which is occupied today by the upscale InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel. The hotel was constructed between 1968- 1975. (via Hello Magazine)