William and Kate eye up surprise move to Windsor
THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are ‘seriously considering’ a move to Windsor, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The mooted relocation, which would bring the family closer to the Queen, is the most significant sign yet that the couple are preparing to take on a far more senior role at the heart of the Royal Family.
A source said William and Kate have been ‘eyeing up’ accommodation options in the area suitable for bringing up their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
They added that properties under consideration could include Fort Belvedere, a Grade II listed house with tower towards the southern end of Windsor Great Park, where King Edward VIII – the Queen’s uncle – signed his abdication papers in 1936. The fort is owned by the Crown Estate and leased to the Weston family, close friends of the Royals. From the top of the tower, on a clear day, Edward once wrote, you could see the dome of St Paul’s ‘with a spyglass’.
But the fort has been dismissed as an option by Palace aides.
Moving the family west – wherever they end up – could prove strategic as well as practical, as the monarchy prepares for major changes in the years ahead.
At the moment, the Cambridges split their time between their London base at Kensington Palace,
‘It would also bring Kate nearer to her parents’
where they also have their offices, and their country home of Anmer Hall in Norfolk.
The home on the Sandringham Estate was a wedding gift from the Queen and, after carrying out refurbishment work, William and Kate made it their permanent home from 2015 to 2017.
Its rural location had several key advantages at the time: William was working as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, and the couple were keen to give their young children as normal an upbringing as possible, away from the public gaze.
But today, with their eldest two children at school in London, it has become rather far to travel for weekends. At Windsor, they could work in reverse – basing the family there full time and commuting in to London when required.
A source said: ‘Anmer Hall made sense while William was a helicopter pilot in East Anglia and it was useful for Christmases at Sandringham, but it doesn’t really work any more. It’s a little too far away for weekends, but Windsor is a perfect compromise. They are eyeing up options in the area.’
The move has other advantages.
It would bring the Cambridges closer to Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, who live 40 miles away in Bucklebury, Berkshire, and who are known for being hands-on grandparents.
Kate’s sister Pippa, her husband James Matthews and their two children also have a home in the village.
Following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in April, it would also no doubt prove a boost to the Queen to have the Cambridges nearby.
The 95-year-old monarch has a close relationship with William, and during his time at Eton College – which is close to the castle – he would often have Sunday lunch with his grandparents in the castle’s panelled Oak Room.
For years the Queen used Windsor as a weekend residence, and a retreat from the working week at Buckingham Palace. But the monarch now plans to base herself permanently at Windsor once she returns from the annual summer break in Balmoral.
She and Prince Philip stayed at Windsor during the lockdown. It meant she was close to her youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, who live nearby at Bagshot Park, and Prince Andrew, who lives at Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
Prince Harry and Meghan refurbished Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate, but the property is now used by Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their six-month-old son, August.
Having the Cambridges nearby would mean most of the Queen’s immediate family – barring Prince Charles and Princess Anne – were close at hand to support her.
An insider added: ‘I don’t think we’ll see the Sussexes coming back in any meaningful way.’
In October, the Queen will embark on a series of high-profile engagements alongside different members of the family. Highlights over the coming weeks will include appearing with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to open the Sixth Session of the Scottish Parliament.