The Prince and Princess of Wales are planning to make a fresh start in a new home, after a tumultuous few years that included Queen Elizabeth II's death, the controversial departure of the Sussexes to the US, and a series of major health scares.
A Kensington Palace spokesman confirmed that William, Kate, and their children George, Charlotte and Louis will leave their current residence, Adelaide Cottage, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, and move into Forest Lodge, an eight-bedroom Grade II-listed Georgian property in Windsor Great Park.
Private home, no live-in staff
Windsor Great Park is part of the Crown Estate and is largely open to the public. Forest Lodge, in one of the private areas of the park, was built in the 1770s and acquired by the Crown in 1829. Over the years, it has been home to Edward VIII's equerry and Princess Margaret's private secretary. It's thought Sarah Ferguson wanted to move there in the 1990s after her divorce from Prince Andrew but, apparently, her request was vetoed by Prince Philip. A more recent occupant was wealthy US philanthropist and socialite Alisa Swidler, dubbed "London's most connected woman", before her sudden death in 2019.
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The house is said to be worth up to £16 million. Its eight bedrooms and six bathrooms spread across three floors, and there's a ballroom and a tennis court. In 2001, it underwent a £1.5 million restoration before being put on the rental market. But a planning application approved earlier this year suggests further work will be done before the Wales' moves in.
William and Kate are paying for the rent and the move themselves "at no extra cost to the taxpayer", said The Sun. They are also footing the renovation costs, unlike Harry and Meghan who "splashed £2.4 million of taxpayers' money" on doing up Frogmore Cottage before decamping to the US.
The family will continue not to have any live-in staff as they focus on creating as private a family home as possible. The house is only a few miles from Lambrook, the private prep school attended by all three children.
William and Kate's desire for privacy has had consequences for other residents of Windsor Great Park, however. "Earlier this summer, two separate families who lived in cottages next to the country mansion were asked to vacate their properties," said The Mail on Sunday. The families were said to have been "surprised" at being asked to leave but "no evictions orders were served" and "the tenants have moved to similar or better housing elsewhere" in the the 4,800-acre park.
'String of challenges'
According to insiders, "the royal couple see this as a move for the long-term and view Forest Lodge as their forever home", said the BBC.
It therefore "appears unlikely", said the Mail on Sunday, that William and his family will ever live in the 775-room Buckingham Palace, official home to the British monarch since 1837, "raising the possibility of it being opened up to the public and used for only major royal functions".
It also means William may "become the first monarch not to live in a palace or castle when he succeeds Charles as King".
The Wales' have lived in the four-bedroomed Adelaide Cottage since 2022, when they relocated from apartments at Kensington Palace. In their three years there, they have dealt with "a string of challenges", including the King's cancer diagnosis and Kate's own cancer treatment, said The Independent.
"Moving is an opportunity to leave some of the more unhappy memories behind," a royal source told the BBC. And this home, they hope, will be a place they can make some happier memories somewhere new.
