In August, we learned that the Prince and Princess of Wales would be moving into their fifth “forever home,” Forest Lodge. Forest Lodge is located on the massive royal Windsor estate, but it’s far away from the Windsor Castle security complex, the alleged “ring of steel,” so the mansion needed its own security upgrades to make it suitable for the heir and the heir’s heir. Incidentally, William and Kate made a big deal about how they were paying for Forest Lodge’s renovations, but the taxpayers are the ones paying for the security upgrades. So what do the upgrades entail? Well, part of Windsor Great Park will now be off-limits to peasants who paid to access the park.
Prince William and Kate will be protected by a huge no-go area banning locals from land near their new home. CCTV cameras, massive fencing and landscaping will keep trespassers away from eight-bed Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berks. Fed-up dog walkers were given their marching orders from the area near William and Kate’s “forever home” and said the Home Office closure of a car park and loss of access is a “kick in the teeth”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 43, and children George, 12, Charlotte, ten, and Louis, seven, will be protected by a no-go zone around eight-bedroom Forest Lodge. A car park and gate access to Windsor Great Park, which locals forked out £110 a year to use, shut for good at 7pm. Trespassers on the land will face arrest under the Home Office plans. The area covers around 150 acres and has a 2.3-mile perimeter which is set to be signposted warning people not to enter.
Contractors were seen driving the last fence posts into the ground yesterday as Windsor Half Marathon participants ran past. An order read: “Due to the pending designation of part of the Great Park as an exclusion area, access via Cranbourne Gate will permanently cease.”
Some residents were annoyed but accepted the royals’ security was of utmost importance. Mechanical engineer Tom Bunn, 32, often parks at the gate to take nine-year-old pooch Mr Brown on a walk through the fields near Forest Lodge. Tom, from Maidenhead, Berks, said: “Obviously it’s disappointing as my dog loves it here. We come here every couple of weeks and we’re going to have to find somewhere else now for him to get the miles in. But I completely understand the safety of William, Kate and their family is paramount so we should make sure they can live happily here.”
A woman, from nearby Winkfield, said: “Many of us have been walking our dogs here for 20 years so to be told we can’t any more is a kick in the teeth. We pay annually towards the upkeep of a park but we are no longer going to be allowed to use part of it. They’ve only given us a few days’ notice to say this section of forest is closing for ever. Now I’ll need to get in my car to drive further afield to take my dog for a walk.”
Locals had been able to apply to hold keys to Cranbourne Gate if they lived within half a mile.
No, I would be absolutely furious if I paid for access to the park and suddenly Tweedlekeen and Tweedledum’s need for yet another mansion meant that I no longer had access. I would sue! I know British people are not as litigious as Americans, but WTF? They paid for access!! It also sounds like the people who paid for park privileges might not have guaranteed access at another gate, right? Like, they have to “apply.” All because Kate needed a new wig room! All because Peggy wants to be a work-from-home king who counts tweets as work.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
