Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly set to move into a new home in Windsor Great Park and a property expert has revealed exactly how much they will have to pay for it
Prince William and Kate Middleton are due to move into Forest Lodge(Image: Getty Images)
The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly preparing to relocate to their £16million “forever home” – and a property expert has disclosed the monthly costs they’ll face.
Rather than choosing to reside within Buckingham Palace when Prince William ascends the throne, he and Kate Middleton, alongside their children George, Charlotte, and Louis, will instead occupy Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park. The property sits four miles from their current four-bedroom residence, Adelaide Cottage.
The couple are expected to finance the relocation privately and will pay commercial rent on the estate to the Crown Estate, the property’s owners.
As speculation mounts regarding their impending move, the royal couple’s prospective new neighbours have voiced their expectations about what lies ahead.
The stunning eight-bedroom Georgian estate, in royal ownership since 1829, was listed back in 2001 for £15,000 monthly, according to Hello! magazine.
The couple are reportedly eager for a fresh start (Image: Chris Jackson, Getty Images)
Yet with inflation over the past 24 years, property expert Russell Quirk told the Manchester Evening News that William and Kate will likely be handing over twice that sum to the Crown Estate.
Explaining the reasoning behind this estimate, he stated: “In the last 20 or so years, these things vary region to region, town to town, but suffice to say the likes of Windsor have become ever more popular, particularly with overseas renters.
“What has happened over recent years in the previous government and this one is that the stamp duty regime on purchases has come more and more penal and the consequence is now a lot of people are renting instead of buying because they don’t want to pay on a property like that – say a £1 million on stamp duty.
“So the rental market in terms of demand is very very strong. As a consequence of that, that property has probably doubled in terms of its rent value, so £15,000 a month back in 2001 is now probably £30,000 a month, about £7,000 a week. It’s not insubstantial – lots and lots and lots of demand.”
Royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, spoke to Hello! about the residence. She said: “This is a really beautiful Georgian house, in a secluded spot, so it will suit them perfectly.
It has been a challenging time for William and Kate(Image: AP)
“Adelaide Cottage was only ever going to be temporary, because it’s too small, but William doesn’t want to live in a huge palace. He has always made quite clear that this isn’t the way he wants to live his life.”
The future king and his family will be moving closer to the residents of Cranbourne Hall Residential Park, who have warmly welcomed their new neighbours, describing them as “wonderful” and “good for the country”. Local Jean Reeve, 87, expressed her delight: “I’m happy for them. I welcome them. But I hope the public allow them to live their quietly as a family.
“It’s a less private spot than their previous home – from what I know about the location. So I’d hate for people to always be going past and saying, ‘Oh, that’s where they live.’ They have young children after all. They deserve privacy.”
Mrs Reeve said William and Kate were her favourite royals and she added: “I think they are going to be good for the country. I was a teenager when the Queen was crowned and she did a lot for this country. But now young blood is a good idea.
“And William and Kate are lovely. They’re young. They’re family-oriented. They’re always with their children. It’s a new style of monarchy. They’d like to be treated as normal people.”
The pair, who wed in 2011, are said to have wanted a clean slate following numerous difficulties in recent years, including King Charles and Kate’s cancer diagnoses and the Queen’s passing.