What Prince William and Kate Middleton’s BIG MOVE Means for Their Family (Royal Expert)

What Prince William and Kate Middleton’s BIG MOVE Means for Their Family (Royal Expert)

This is the third move in as many years for William and Kate. In 2022, they left London for Windsor, for Adelaide Cottage, and now they’re moving again. Why are they moving again? Well, size is is probably the easiest answer to that question. They need a bigger place. Adelaide Cottage, which is where they’re living currently, has just four bedrooms. Um, and it’s been a very difficult few years for them. They moved into Adelaide Cottage back in 2022. within weeks of moving into their their new house, the queen died. And ever since then, it’s really been a very difficult time with, of course, the king’s cancer diagnosis, Kate’s cancer diagnosis. I think there’s a sense of this being a fresh start for them. This is a new house. This is a new chapter in their lives. Catherine’s cancer journey is now behind her. She’s in remission. So, I think there is a sense of this being a fresh start, a new chapter for the family. There’s no word officially on where Prince George is going to go to school when he starts secondary school. Easton is certainly one of the schools being on the list and of course it’s in Windsor. It’s Williams Alma Ma but Mal Brook College where Kate used to go is also a possibility. So no official confirmation on the school but of course Charlotte and Louie will remain at Lambert School uh for the next few years and this is a very easy commute. The palace are not guiding on when this move is going to take place. It’s it’s not immediate. I mean last time then they moved to Adelaide Cottage they were moving at this time. They moved over the summer holidays just in time for the start of the academic year and of course that was when Prince Louie was starting his first day at school at Lamborrook. So there’s clearly some works that need to be done. We know there’s some tree planting going on at the moment. There’s a a flurry of activity around Forest Lodge and that’s really sort of getting things ready. What we do know is that the refurbishments that are going to take place will be paid for by William and Kate and and insiders at Palace seem quite keen to impress this point. Now, that’s probably because when they moved into Kensington Palace, which remains their official residence in the UK, that cost the taxpayer an estimated 4.5 million pounds for those refurbishments. William and Kate are very mindful of not wanting the British taxpayer to pick up the bill for refurbishments for their new house. Now, this is a three-story house. It hasn’t really been touched, we understand, since 2001. Um, so clearly there is some work to be done. There has been a flurry of activity. We know there’s tree planting going on outside the house to sort of give the family that much needed privacy. But they will be paying for the move. They will be paying for the renovations. They don’t want any burden on the taxpayer. And I think that’s really important because when the queen gifted them Kensington Palace, there was a major refurbishment at apartment 1A. 20 bedrooms were refurbished at a cost of £4.5 million to the taxpayer. William and Kate don’t want any accusations that they’re draining the public purse. The family don’t have a living staff at the moment, but the beauty of Forest Lodge is that it has several smaller outhouses within its grounds. So, if they chose to have a living nanny, then that would be possible. But we do know they need a significant security detail. And unlike Adelaide Cottage, there is space at Forest Lodge for their security detail. But no confirmation yet on whether there will be live-in help. We do know that William and Kate are very hands-on. They do the school run themselves. They are they are very very hands-on parents. So, it may be that they don’t have a live-in nanny. They’ve managed for the last 3 years without a live-in. Um, I suspect they’re probably going to want this place to be theirs and very much a family home. It’s a very imposing house. It’s on three stories. It’s a grade two listed house. There are eight bedrooms, um, six bathrooms, extensive grounds, including a tennis court, which um, the Princess of Wales will love because she’s a very keen tennis player. And it does have the slight problem of being publicly accessible, particularly around Christmas time. One of the routes to go and buy Christmas trees for members of the public is straight past Forest Lodge. And that may be why there’s a a flurry of activity and tree planting which is going on at the moment. We know how much this family values their privacy. It’s one of the key reasons that they left Kensington Palace because they hated that feeling of being in a goldfish bowl. So privacy is is absolutely top priority as is space and and Forest Lodge does seem to tick all of the boxes for them as a family. I think we are seeing quite major changes to the monarchy and those have really been spearheaded by by King Charles. He doesn’t live in a palace. He doesn’t live in a castle. He still lives at Clarence House, which was his London residence when he was Prince of Wales. And I think we’re seeing Prince William as the current Prince of Wales, do things his way. I don’t think he has any intention or desire to live at Buckingham Palace and and possibly not even at Windsor Castle. And he won’t be the first king to do so because he’s taking a leaf out of his father’s book. There does seem to be a move towards opening up the palaces more to the public. I’m told that Prince William has no desire whatsoever to live at Buckingham Palace. There was a rumor that Windsor Castle would be the obvious choice of a permanent residence for William when he’s king. Not so according to his aids, he wants uh he wants a low-key residence. Um and we’re being told that this house is going to be their forever home. It may be that we see Windsor Castle opened up to the public more in the same way that Buckingham Palace has been. We are seeing a shuffle when it comes to royal residences. We are seeing palaces opened in a way that they haven’t been before. And we are seeing in King Charles, a king that wants to be, I think, below the radar when it comes to housing and and where he lives. He’s kept the same residences he did have when he was Prince of Wales. I think we’re going to see the same thing with William. I think it’s a question of of perhaps being a little more modest when it comes to royal residences with a modern monarchy. Where William is breaking the mold is making Windsor his permanent home. We understand that they’re going to be keeping Kensington Palace because of course they need an official London residence, but making Windsor his home, he’s almost following in his late grandmother’s footsteps. The late Queen Elizabeth II loved Windsor. It was her favorite of all royal residences. Charles has preferred Clarence House um his London residence and of course High Grove. He spends a lot of time in Scotland. But we are seeing in William, a Prince of Wales and a future monarch who loves Windsor the same way his grandmother did and who is making it his forever home.

Royal author Katie Nicholl explains why Prince William and Kate Middleton are moving homes and what it means for their family.