William and Kate Have Six Other Properties Beyond Forest Lodge — and the Rent They Pay For Them Is Raising Eyebrows
Alongside Forest Lodge, Prince William and Kate Middleton also have the access to several other high-end homes.
Over the years, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal residences have attracted massive public attention, with questions often being raised about the scale, cost, and use of the properties. From their huge residence at Kensington Palace to Anmer Hall in Norfolk and, more recently, their Windsor home, their housing arrangements have sparked debate over royal privilege, privacy, and taxpayer-funded properties. Now, they are once again facing fresh attention as questions grow over palace rental agreements and access to multiple Crown Estate properties.
Alongside their main residence, Forest Lodge in Great Windsor Park, where they pay 'market rent', the royal couple are also reportedly benefiting from access to several other high-end homes at a cost far below what a typical taxpayer would be expected to pay, as reported by the Daily Mail. Speaking of this, Royal Author Norman Baker said, “William has seen the warning signs and announced he will pay a market rent for their sumptuous new home, Forest Lodge, built in the 1770s and nestling inside a new and rather ugly perimeter fence some 2.3 miles long. But what of his other properties? The prince, who is championing the needs of the homeless, has six other properties he and Kate can stay in.”
Listing out all their properties, Baker stated, “There is the modest-sounding but far from modest 20-room Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace in London, Anmer Hall in Sandringham, Restomel Manor in Lostwithiel, Tamarisk House on the Isles of Scilly, Tam-Na-Ghar on the Balmoral estate, and a royal retreat in Llandovery in Carmarthenshire.” What’s worth noting is that apart from the occasional holiday stay, the Wales family is said to spend very limited time at some of their properties, and it has been claimed that William may not be directly responsible for funding all of them, which makes their low occupancy less of a concern for him.
Baker said, “It is believed that no rent is paid on Apartment 1A or Tam-Na-Ghar out of the pockets of William and Kate. In addition, likely, the properties which sit within the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster will be classified as business expenses and so reduce the taxation bills for Charles and William.” Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is soon going to investigate a series of property deals of some of the prestigious royal residences. The public body will examine how these agreements were made, amid suggestions that some may have been negotiated with limited transparency. This review will surely highlight cases where rents are reported to be very nominal for royal properties.
