Kate aims to prove she is worthy to be the nation’s future queen
approach roads around Long Walk, the man route into the grounds.
Extra landscaping in the grounds of the Grade II listed home will screen it from nearby footpaths and make it impossible for a vehicle to crash through new fences.
The final security package will include blast-proof windows with inch-thick glass and steel-lined doors that cannot be battered down.
Trespass on the site is a criminal offence.
Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is expected to take up residence in a private apartment being built onto the rear of the home. THE Duchess of Cambridge aims to become the Royal Family’s charity powerhouse next year and prove her credentials as a future queen.
Kate, 36, who visited Her Majesty alone at Buckingham Palace last week, is to put any petty squabbles with sister-in-law Meghan Markle behind her.
After months of planning, she is to announce a fresh care initiative for struggling children in the new year, which could change the balance between royalty and politics.
A team of academics, advisers, experts and aides has been working with Kate for around a year and studying Britain’s most crippling social problems.
Aides believe that the project will cement the duchess’s future as a seriousminded, hard-working royal and future monarch.
One family friend explained: “There are those who are satisfied to turn up to get headlines and raise money, and there are those who want to get stuck in and make a difference. That is very much Catherine.
“If you’re looking for the causes of poverty, poor mental health, poor housing and poor social care, the politics also have to be dealt with. So there might be bumpy times ahead for her.
“But she has given this everything she’s got and is determined to make it work. Catherine would be the last person in the world to use the phrase Queen of Hearts but if the crown fits...?”
The mother-of-three’s campaign is being co-ordinated with the Royal Foundation charity, set up by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Her aide Aida Cable – head of the foundation’s young people programmes – has been liaising with independent experts.
Aida, daughter of Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, is expected to submit a final report for Kate’s approval within the next few weeks, prior to the new year launch.
The duchess’s plans are understood to have the full backing of the Queen and of veteran social campaigner Prince Charles. Kate’s roundtable of experts
‘She is giving her all to help children’
includes specialists such as psychologist Professor Peter Fonagy, 66, of University College London.
He said: “She came with a very deep interest about childhood and the influence of childhood on later development. She was surprisingly well informed.”
“What we have come to understand is just how important the early years can be in influencing the choices people make in life. She is in a remarkable position to raise awareness.”
Other experts involved include author and adviser Naomi Eisenstadt and respected schools chief Ed Vainker.
The duchess made an early start to her commitments this month when her patronage of the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, which specialises in early care, was announced.