There’s certainly an odd vibe around the Prince and Princess of Wales this summer. There was the mess with their vacation on a superyacht, which was clearly covered up by Kensington Palace. There was Prince William’s incandescent rage and furious briefing spree about his father’s communications guru meeting with the Sussexes’ reps in London. Then on Friday, William and Kate skipped the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, citing their ongoing summer vacation, but they sent a tweet which royal reporters eyerollingly called “a moving tribute.” And then, just hours after they skipped VJ Day, the Sun had the big exclusive about the Wales family’s move into Forest Lodge, an eight-bedroom home on the Windsor estate. I can tell that the British press is mad, but what I can’t figure out is what’s happening behind the scenes? Was it really just William and Kate being too f–king lazy to go to VJ Day? Or was this backlash brewing for much longer? In any case, the Daily Mail ran an exclusive about the Forest Lodge move and there’s some damaging info in here. Some highlights:
William & Kate kicked two families out of their homes: Two families have been asked to leave their homes so the Prince and Princess of Wales can live in an eight-bedroom mansion, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The MoS has learnt that earlier this summer two separate families who lived in cottages next to the country mansion were asked to vacate their properties. The cottages, converted from Forest Lodge’s stables, are understood to have been rented out by the Crown Estate, and the tenants, are said to have been ‘surprised’ at being asked to leave. It is understood that no eviction notices were served and the tenants have moved to similar or better housing elsewhere in the 4,800-acre Great Park.
The Crown Estates forced the families out: One well-connected source said: ‘They were told to move out. I guess they were given somewhere else, but they were told they had to move. They were not expecting it. Those houses are very close to the lodge, so they’re not going to want any Tom, Dick or Harry living in those houses if there are going to be royals there.’
Forest Lodge is an upgrade: With its chandelier-lit ballroom, tennis court, Venetian windows and extensive grounds, Forest Lodge is a considerable upgrade from the cosy four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage where the prince and princess and their young family have lived for the last three years. Royal insiders say William and Kate are hoping for a ‘fresh start’ at Forest Lodge and an opportunity to leave some of their more unhappy memories behind them. Forest Lodge was last week a hive of activity, with new shrubs being planted in its grounds and builders in white vans visiting. A metal fence with black mesh privacy screens has been erected around the front of the house.
The palace obfuscated the Mail’s reporting on the Waleses’ move out of Adelaide: The MoS revealed in July that the prince and princess were considering upsizing to a much grander residence. Our scoop, however, was met with a degree of obfuscation by the Palace. Aides initially attempted to steer this newspaper away from the story before clarifying that a move from Adelaide Cottage was not imminent. It is understood that after publication, rival reporters were dismissively told that it was a so-called ‘silly season’ story. In fact, plans for a move were by then well advanced.
What happened to W&K’s desire for Fort Belvedere: It is understood that one of the options considered by the couple was Fort Belvedere, a magnificent gothic-revival mansion in Windsor Great Park which was the favourite home of Edward VIII. The Grade II-listed property has been leased to the family of late Canadian retail billionaire Galen Weston since the early 1980s. The MoS understands the family decided to renew their contract on the property earlier this year, which meant it was no longer available for the prince and princess.
Kate was shopping at the royal storehouses: Early in the summer Kate was repeatedly seen at a storehouse on the Windsor Estate which houses surplus royal furniture and antiques, according to sources. The Sun yesterday claimed she had been spotted picking out a 24-seater dining table. ‘This house is much larger than Adelaide Cottage. There is a dining room and drawing room which require substantial pieces of furniture,’ one source said.
The “forever home” claim: The claim that Forest Lodge is the family’s ‘forever home’ has been met with scepticism by some royal insiders. ‘How can this be their forever home?’ asked one source. ‘It is not grand enough for a king.’ In 2013 aides suggested Kensington Palace would be William and Kate’s ‘forever home’ after they moved into the 20-room Apartment 1A, refurbished at the cost of £4.5million to the taxpayer. The work included a new roof, electrics and a second kitchen in addition to the existing 350 sq ft kitchen. A royal spokesman said at the time: ‘This is the duke and duchess’s only official residence. It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come.’ Indeed, aides this weekend insisted that Kensington Palace will remain their ‘official London residence’ and their office staff will remain there.
They’re keeping Anmer Hall as well: It is understood, the Waleses will also keep Anmer Hall, a ten-bedroom property in Norfolk gifted as a wedding present by Queen Elizabeth. The choice of Forest Lodge as their long-term family home raises questions about the future of Buckingham Palace after William becomes King.
Fergie wanted Forest Lodge as well: In 1998, two years after her divorce from Prince Andrew, it was reported that Sarah Ferguson wanted to move into Forest Lodge. But the proposal is said to have been vetoed by Prince Philip.
While it’s technically true that the Waleses moved from KP 1A to Adelaide Cottage (while retaining KP), everyone is skipping over the years Will and Kate were permanently based in Norfolk. As soon as QEII gave them Anmer Hall, they gut-renovated it and moved in swiftly, telling everyone that they wanted to raise their family in the country. They only really moved “back” to KP in 2017, when they made a big deal about how NOW they were finally “working royals.” They also demanded another renovation of KP when they moved back there! Just FYI.
As for the rest of this… I’m glad the Mail is pointing out that Kensington Palace lied to them about the “moving out of Adelaide” story, and it’s fascinating that the Mail has pointed out that the big homeless savior evicted two families from their homes so that the family’s staffers would have some place to live, I guess. Since we were told that William and Kate would definitely not have “live-in staff,” remember? The maids, nannies, butlers, secretaries and videographers need to live somewhere close by!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
