Prince William and Princess Kate’s move to Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park has closed 150 acres of public land, leaving local dog walkers devastated and branding the decision ‘selfish’
The Prince and Princess of Wales are making a big move(Image: PA)
A Windsor resident has slammed Prince William and Princess Kate as ‘selfish’ for relocating to Forest Lodge, claiming that the real expense to taxpayers is far more catastrophic and wide-reaching than most people understand.
Following a string of challenging years marked by two cancer diagnoses, the late Queen’s passing and Royal family controversies, William and Kate began anew last month by settling into their “forever home” at Forest Lodge, a £16 million estate tucked within the expansive Great Windsor Park grounds. This move aligns with William’s vow to safeguard his family’s privacy after his mother Princess Diana’s tragic death.
“If you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family,” he declared. However, the relocation has already sparked outrage among frustrated residents who claim they awoke in September to the alarming discovery that they could no longer enter enormous stretches of oak-filled countryside. Local residents assert that approximately 150 acres of land that was previously open to the public has been cordoned off to house the Wales family and their three children, with their protection and security taking top priority.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton stuns as William and children join her at Christmas carol serviceREAD MORE: Princess Kate urged Prince George ‘can’t be kept under lock and key’ anymoreHuge changes in the park
Prior to the official announcement, dog owners spotted extensive fencing appearing everywhere, “no public entry” notices being put up and a substantial police deployment, with surveillance cameras, excavated ditches and fresh hedgerows dramatically altering the atmosphere of the cherished park.
A Windsor resident has slammed Prince William and Princess Kate as ‘selfish’ for relocating to Forest Lodge,
The Royal pair has additionally established a 2.3-mile private exclusion zone surrounding Forest Lodge, and it’s believed that anyone caught entering the “Serious Organised Crime and Police Act exclusion area” without authorisation will face arrest, reports the Mirror.
For Tina, whose residence sits across from Forest Lodge, the development represents a devastating setback. She cautions that although the restricted zone has been mainly described as just the compact two-mile perimeter, the truth is that thousands of acres have been taken away from public access, and unfortunately, the enchantment of the park where she has strolled for 15 years is slowly being extinguished.
“Anyone can buy a pass to the Windsor Great Park car parks and walk in the public areas. So, by closing Cranbourne Gate car park and an area of land behind the Forest Lodge about three times the size of St James’ Park, thousands of people from miles around have been affected,” she tells the Mirror. Tina, who treasured the opportunity to unleash her spirited Golden Cocker Retriever across stunning open meadows, is livid.
“More than half of Windsor Great Park is private. The public areas for walking are extremely precious. By closing Cranbourne Gate and the surrounding land, people are being increasingly forced to walk on the other side of the park, which is ridiculously over crowded at the weekends. At Cranbourne, there’s hundreds of acres of open fields studded with oak trees so I could train my dog very easily, whereas the side of the park where I live, It’s all forest.”
Windsor Great Park
Walking paths aren’t the only casualties of these changes. A kids’ environmental learning facility inside the newly restricted area has also shut its doors, and reports suggest that two households residing in nearby cottages close to the Waleses’ fresh residence have been forced out.
Regarding the facility’s closure, the Crown Estate has declared: “While we are working together to minimise the impact on users of the park as far as possible, we will be pausing our onsite activities while we work closely with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to identify potential alternative sites.”
Tina, perplexed by Kate and William’s choice to exclude locals, expressed: “It’s clearly a selfish act, allowing a huge amount of public land to be closed, expecting other families to be evicted and increasing public costs so they have sufficient security living in an area which didn’t have police protection before, I doubt they gave a second thought to the implications for others.
“Enclosing public land for the benefit of one couple is outrageous. It’s like closing Regents Park in London and saying it doesn’t matter because you can still go to Hyde Park.”
Prince William and Princess Kate with their three children (Image: Getty Images)
The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly financing their move privately and will pay market rent for the property. Any renovations on Forest Lodge won’t be covered by the Sovereign Grant, which provides state funding for the monarchy.
Tina was informed about the contentious closure via an email from the Crown Estate, just three days before it took effect. “Due to the pending designation of part of the Great Park as a Socpa (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act exclusion area), access via Cranbourne Gate will permanently cease on Monday 29 September 2025. As a result, Cranbourne car park will be permanently closed from 7pm on Sunday 28 September 2025,” announced the park management.
Windsor Great Park has assured that parking will still be available at Ranger’s Gate car park, which is “just down the road”. However, for dog walkers like Tina, it’s not quite the same.
A ‘Car Park Closed’ sign at the entrance to the Cranborne Gate car park, opposite Cranborne Gate at Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, where preparations are underway for the Prince and Princess of Wales to move to the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge property(Image: PA)
The area is primarily designed for horse crossings and requires a lengthy walk to reach a spot where dogs can roam freely off-leash. “When I realized we only had a couple of days left of access, I did go over there, and everyone I met was upset,” she shares.
“I ran into a woman there that I recognized, and she told me that when she got the email, she cried. For people who have walked there for years, it’s so sad.
“I also met a couple of people who had keys to the forest, which is the other side of Forest Lodge. And they were desperately upset, it’s like their back garden. You got a key to the forest you lived within walking distance, around half a mile. So it’s not as many people who have been affected there, but the affect on them, of course, is absolutely massive. You’ve got a dog and you’ve got hundreds of acres of woods that you’ve been allowed to use for years, and now you can’t.”
The pair are thought to be hoping to stay in Forest Lodge even when William takes the throne(Image: Getty Images)
Tina hasn’t mustered the courage to revisit her cherished walking route since its closure. “Because I’m quite upset, I don’t like to go over there now and see it all fenced off and signed with police, it’ll stick in the core a bit,” she confesses.
The real kicker, she points out, is the common misconception that the park is owned by the Royal Family. In reality, the park – and Forest Lodge – are owned by the Crown Estate, a public entity whose revenues go to the Treasury.
As Tina highlights, this means that “they’re supposed to manage the land in the national interest”.
“It’s not the royals’ garden back garden,” she cautions. “This is not a decision in the national interest for tens of thousands of people to lose access to public land. Kate and William’s actual backyard has been fenced off from this land. It’s merely a view from their bedroom window, so they likely won’t even use it. I can’t fathom why they would think it was a good idea to annex all that land for themselves.As a local with an intimate understanding of the area, Tina is baffled as to why the Waleses didn’t opt for a more private, secluded property.
Forest Lodge is set become Prince William and Kate Middleton’s new home.(Image: Getty Images)
“I don’t see the security benefit for the family, because if they were in one of the private areas, the kids could hop on their bikes and cycle around. Forest Lodge is right next to the village, where many park employees reside. It’s not private at all there, it’s the busiest part of the park. So it just doesn’t add up,” she states.
“It’s just so sad. I live here because of the park, that’s why I want to live here. It’s a huge loss to me and many others. The nature of the park is changing over time. They’ve very much commercialised it – over here at the moment, we’ve got the light trail and other things, and they’re just trying to squeeze us all into this one little area, which I don’t think is good for people, dogs or nature.”
Windsor Great Park
Just moments before setting off with her pooch to scout for an alternative walking spot, Tina shared with us: “I want Kate and William to open up their eyes and realise the consequences of this move, and I hope that when William becomes King and has multiple properties at his disposal, he vacates the house and allows the public to get their land back – It’s not some hard up family who have nowhere else to go.”
The Mirror has reached out to Windsor Great Park for a response.Kensington Palace refused to provide a statement, while a representative for The Crown Estate explained: “A security boundary has been introduced by the Home Office and Thames Valley Police in a small area of Windsor Great Park to support enhanced protective measures. This does not affect the vast majority of public access to the Park and efforts have been made to reduce the impact on users of the park as far as possible.
“We are working closely with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to identify potential alternative sites for the Environmental Centre.”