Prince William And Kate Pay a Massive Price to Let Their Kids Grow Up Outside Palace Walls
Earlier this month, Prince William and Princess Kate moved into their 'forever home', i.e., Forest Lodge in Windsor Park, leaving behind the beautiful Adelaide Cottage. Haunted by the painful years of the Queen's passing, and Kate and King Charles' cancer diagnoses, they reportedly hoped to start afresh. Their new home, quite the upgrade from their four-bedroom cottage, more than double in area, will be the perfect home for their growing children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
The massive property comes with eight bedrooms and is estimated to be around £16 million ($21 million), i.e., almost worth 59.4 times more than the average UK home, which is around £269,000 ($354,000). Their previous lodging, in comparison, was valued at around £5.5 million ($7 million). As per reports, the Prince and Princess of Wales paid around £1.5 million ($1.9 million) for restoration during their stay from 2022-25. Their new property is also located inside Windsor Great Park, and is about four miles away from Adelaide Cottage.
Royal correspondent Danielle Stacey told HELLO!, "The Prince and Princess of Wales clearly love living in Windsor, the children are settled at Lambrook School nearby, and they will still be close to Windsor Castle for royal functions and engagements. Upsizing to Forest Lodge allows the family more space and has already been viewed as their 'forever home,' rather than having the children grow up within the walls of a palace. It's expected that the property will continue to be their residence even when Prince William becomes King, in a similar vein to King Charles retaining Highgrove as his country abode and Clarence House as his London pad." The property is a 328-year-old Georgian mansion that boasts a ballroom, a tennis court, and even a lake.
Historically, Forest Lodge, which was formerly known as Holly Grove, was home to the Deputy Ranger of the Windsor Home Park estate until 1937. Now, it will house the future King of Britain. But neighbors are not that thrilled. As per reports, two families who lived in nearby cottages were asked to vacate before the family arrived. They have been offered similar accommodations elsewhere on the sprawling estate.