Real question: do you think there was a different way for the Prince and Princess of Wales to position their move to Forest Lodge so that they wouldn’t have gotten such angry pushback? I think Tom Skyes’ point, made in his Royalist Substack, was well-made: that William and Kate arguing that they “needed” to move to Forest Lodge because of their “difficult three years” was what came across as particularly tone-deaf. No one deserves an emotional-support manor house, especially not a work-shy couple who just skipped VJ Day for no reason other than “they were on vacation.” As I’ve said for years, it’s bizarre that William and Kate even kept up the “we’re happy in humble Adelaide Cottage” story. They are the future king and queen – it’s actually perfectly acceptable for them to say, “actually, we need a larger place to entertain and host events as we begin to transition into our eventual roles as heads of state.” They can’t say that and they couldn’t argue that because… then people would expect them to actually do the work. Which is why they’re still sticking with “we deserve an emotional-support mansion because QEII died!” From Katie Nicholl’s Vanity Fair piece:
A new chapter: Prince William and Kate Middleton are looking forward to starting “a new chapter” when they move out of Adelaide Cottage and into Forest Lodge. Sources close to the couple say they want to leave the difficult memories of the past three years behind and “start afresh” when they move into the stunning eight-bedroom, six-bathroom home with a “ballroom” and tennis court, in Windsor Great Park later this year. It is the family’s third move in as many years. In 2022, William, Kate and their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, left London for Windsor, trading Kensington Palace for Adelaide Cottage. The four-bedroom house is too small for the family, and friends say the couple wants a change after a turbulent three years.
Mapping out a long-term plan: Sources close to the family say William and Catherine, who is in remission, are mapping out a long-term plan to stay in Windsor, where their three children are enrolled in school. Although the palace has not confirmed where Prince George will attend secondary school, William’s alma mater Eton College is on their short list and an easy commute from Forest Lodge. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will stay at nearby prep school Lambrook School until they are eleven.
Future-planning: Sources have told Vanity Fair that there will be no other changes to the couple’s living arrangements and that they will keep their Kensington Palace apartment as their official London residence as well as Anmer Hall in Norfolk, which was gifted to them by the late Queen as a wedding present. William and Kate are said to be “future planning” for when they are King and Queen and will divide their lives between Windsor, Norfolk and London.
They plan on rarely staying in London though: Apartment 1A, their grand 20-room apartment at Kensington Palace, is rarely used by the family, who do not like the fact that the residence is located in a public park. According to sources, it is unlikely that William and Kate will ever live full-time in London. Forest Lodge will be their “forever home,” they say, adding that they may not want to move when they become King and Queen. While Windsor Castle, the late Queen Elizabeth’s favorite royal residence, would be an obvious place for the family to live when William is monarch, friends of the couple say they want a more “low-key” residence. “It’s all in keeping with William not wanting to be a drain on the public purse and living as ordinary a life as he can, even when he is King,” adds one insider.
A while back, I said repeatedly that the more they talked about their simple life in Adelaide Cottage, the less I believed that William even lived there. The same is true in this situation with Forest Lodge – the more they go on and on about “future-planning” to stay in Forest Lodge forever, the less I believe that Forest Lodge is actually the real plan for both Will and Kate. Granted, I think they will retain Forest Lodge for the foreseeable future – Kate and her parents negotiated an upgraded separation home, after all, and a deal is a deal. But all of this talk of mapping out their future makes it sound like this is simply going to be their cover story for some time to come. One of my theories is that William has been splitting his time between a suite in Windsor Castle and KP for some time already. I also think he stays at the Sandringham main house a lot of the time too. This is less about “William not wanting to be a drain on the public purse” and more about the elaborate cover stories for William and Kate’s living arrangements and marital estrangement.
Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace and Cover Images.
