'Queen Elizabeth' buys home in Wellesley, adding to suburban empire
Nicholas Goss for Boston.com
Here’s the home ‘‘Queen Elizabeth’’ purchased on Bradley Avenue.
Who knew the British royals had taken such a liking to Wellesley real estate?
With her longtime house in Weston on the market for $2.6 million, Queen Elizabeth II is listed as the buyer of a smaller home in Wellesley for $1.5 million. Really, honest to God, no kidding. And which, by the way, adds to the two homes she already owns in town, according to the local assessor's office.
Downsizing and turning a $1 million profit at the same time? By heavens what is her majesty up to here west of Boston?
Well the truth is less dramatic, though still pretty interesting in its own right.
While the queen is listed as the buyer of that 15 Bradley Avenue home in Wellesley, the real buyer is the Canadian Consulate in Boston.
The queen technically remains head of state in Canada, so her name pops up on lots of real estate transactions in the Boston area and across the world.
It creates an interesting conversation piece, noted Patrick Binns, Consul General of Canada to New England, while also sparking lots of questions from confused Americans.
“It’s a bit hard to explain,” said Binns, who good-naturedly tried his best in a telephone interview today.
The queen has no connection to any of these properties – or the foggiest notion of her growing Boston area real estate empire, he explained. The Canadian government, not the British royal family, is laying out the money as well.
“The queen would not know anything of these transactions,” Binns said.
Instead, the Canadian government has a policy of buying and leasing property for its consulate staff to live in -- hence the two other homes in Wellesley, and two other leased properties in the area.
And to hear Binns explain it – he just arrived in town last year after a diplomatic stint in Ireland - the move is all a matter of government efficiency.
“We were looking for a house that was the right size for our operations,” he said.
Scott Van Voorhis can be reached at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com.
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