It’s worth noting that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge laid the groundwork for their “move to Adelaide Cottage” for more than a year. It was surprising last summer when they started talking about it and began house-hunting and publicly lobbying for a fancy house on the Royal Windsor estate, but most of us royal-watchers have known for months now that the move was happening and the kids would change schools. The thing about all of that careful groundwork was that… I’m not sure many people were paying attention. So when the Cambridges formally announced their big “move to Adelaide,” most British sites and casual British gossipers were like “wait, what, don’t you already have several homes?” The Independent and other British outlets all ran stories about how Adelaide Cottage is the Cambridges’ fourth home, after Kensington Palace Apt. 1A, Anmer Hall in Norfolk and Tam-Na-Ghar on the Balmoral estate. Even the Daily Mail included some critical comments by Peter Hunt in their running coverage:
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: ‘Relocating to Adelaide Cottage in the ultra-private Home Park at Windsor takes away the ‘goldfish-bowl’ aspect of the Cambridge family’s life. Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace is perfect in so many ways but the Duke and Duchess and their children are unable to come and go as they might like or take advantage of the nearby London parks because of the ever-present privacy issues.
‘Logistically, having all three children in the same school makes perfect sense because it means just one school run. With the family in Berkshire the journey will be considerably shorter and easier than the nightmare that was Kensington Palace to Battersea twice a day. It also means that the cost of security, always a contentious topic, is much lower than if Louis was at a different school to his siblings.’
Royal commentator and former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt added: ‘A fourth home for the Cambridges is a reminder the royals don’t suffer from the cost-of-living crisis and a looming recession in the same way as the rest of us. When taxpayers’ money was spent on refurbishing their apartment at Kensington Palace, Prince William, who campaigns for the homeless, insisted his family planned to stay there for many years to come.’
A royal source said the duke and duchess were very conscious of how their move stands in contrast to the cost-of-living crisis impacting the nation. Asked whether the couple was mindful of the economic difficulties facing many who would not be able to afford such opportunities, the source said: ‘They absolutely are. It’s something they have thought long and hard about and this is a decision they have not taken lightly. It would have been extremely difficult for them to continue on as senior working royals if they were based in Norfolk. What they have basically done allows them to put the kids first, but also to continue on doing what they do all day, every day.’
William and Kate will pay market value on the property from their own private funds, not from taxpayers’ money via the Sovereign Grant, and will foot their own moving costs.
William and Kate will also give up their live-in Norland nanny, Maria Borrallo, for the first time when they move to Adelaide Cottage. The couple hired her in 2014 to help look after George when he was aged just eight months – and she has lived with the family for almost nine years. She will however be kept on full-time by the family.
“With the family in Berkshire the journey will be considerably shorter and easier than the nightmare that was Kensington Palace to Battersea twice a day…” Like, when the Cambridges picked Thomas’s Battersea, everyone was like “wow, that’s a hellish daily commute.” The Cambridges did it anyway – they weren’t forced into choosing a school with a terrible commute. What goes unsaid by nearly every commentator is that Kate can’t function without her mother and that’s why the move is important too. Lambrook isn’t just an easier commute, it’s close to Middleton Manor, so that Kate can spend even more time with mummy.
As for the whole “but they have four homes now” issue – that’s been an issue the whole time but y’all were too busy throwing tantrums over Harry buying his own 78-bathroomed mansion in Montecito. Yes, the Cambridges have four homes – two of them on “private” royal land (Anmer and Tam-Na-Ghar), two of them on taxpayer-funded property (Adelaide and KP). All of the security for these homes is being paid for by taxpayers. All of the helicopters back and forth from these homes are paid by taxpayers.
“It would have been extremely difficult for them to continue on as senior working royals if they were based in Norfolk…” Or they could have just… stayed in London, which is what they swore they would do in the first place?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid and Avalon Red.
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Realistically they only need the Windsor one and KP. Why do they need their own house in Scotland when they’re only there few days in the year they could stay at Balmoral and have their own quarter in the castle. Same with Anmer why they need this giant home when Sandrigham is near by.
I mean wasn’t amner their escape to the country? They basically have that now in Berkshire so the least they could do is give up amner.
They won’t give up Anmer because that’s going to be William’s pad to continue pruning the rose bushes. It’s clear that Kate has been chased out of Toffland, hence why we’re seeing this sudden move to Berkshire (close to mummy again). It’s no secret that Kate was finding it difficult in Norfolk without Carole there during covid.
Probably because they don’t want to stay with the Queen and be subjected to her rules and her other guest. There is a lot of explaining the move to Windsor but yet they refuse to discuss the real issue…the state of the Cambridge marriage.
They need them because they are royalty.
What is the point of being royal if you don’t have lots of homes, cars, clothing, jewellery and holidays, and the best quality food.
Yes, what is the point of having royals at all? They eat up homes, cars, clothing, jewels and food, for whose benefit?
They did NOT need to send their kids to St Thomas’. I worked in Battersea for a few months and can 100% confirm the commute, traffic, etc. is hellish around there at the best of times. Going from KP to there was always going to be a nightmare. It all comes down to Kate’s insecurity re: the Aristos. That’s why she sent the kids to St Thomas’, that’s why they’re being sent to Lambrook (and as you mentioned, needing to be closer to mummy)
Also, there’s another Thomas’s right by KP. (I knew there was one closer to their house and just looked it up and its……right there in Kensington. It’s literally called Thomas’s Kensington, LOL.) Sending them to Battersea was a CHOICE.
Apparently it’s because out of all the Thomas schools, Battersea is the “best” one but I have no idea how true that is because I’m not super into the London private school scene. But still, there are some great schools in Kensington/Chelsea/even Notting Hill that they could have sent them too and it wouldn’t be such a difficult commute. Some are even in decent walking distance.
Exactly, they put themselves in this situation. And I can’t imagine that any of those schools are not suitable. and LOL @ Thomas’ Kensington
There are plenty of famous people in London. We really do not give a f***. I’ve seen plenty of famous people on the tube, in the train station, at restaurants. I’m not saying security isn’t important, however, there plenty of famous kids who go to school in London. There are options which aren’t as difficult as they made for themselves at St Thomas’.
Kate had no other choice. Clearly there is an issue in the marriage. IMO, Kate decided that she would prefer to be close to her parents (pending divorce or continuing to live separate). So, Windsor was a compromise. Once the full story comes out this choice will make sense. The media is already leaving breadcrumbs on the state of the marriage. Most recently Kate, Charolette and Louis traveling without William and George. It seems like Kate always have 2 and William has the other child. Screams arrangement.
@pumpkin, the line about why they chose Thomas’ Battersea over Thomas’ Kensington was that Kensington was too full of oligarchs’ kids and celebrities 🙄 in the meantime the only children we have ever seen the Cambridge children interact with in public are the children of like, Bryan Adams and Bear Grylls at that nonsense yacht race in 2019.
Yes the lengthy commute was definitely mentioned when they chose this for George and so it took them how many years to not like it anymore?
And they still haven’t justified why they couldn’t simply choose another school in London that is more conveniently located. It’s not like there is just one good school in london.
@Blujfly: Never really got that reasoning because almost every private school in London has oligarch and celebrity kids. I’m sure even Battersea has it’s fair share even if it’s not as large of a share compared to the schools in Kensington/Chelsea/Knightsbridge. They weren’t ever going to find a decent chunk of “regular” kids because not all “regular parents” can afford those school fees. I personally do know some parents who are solidly middle class but their kids attend private schools but those are the exceptions and not the majority.
I think the aristo set send their kids to the one in Battersea as most of them live in and around Fulham/Chelsea (Battersea is a short drive over Battersea Bridge from there). Battersea itself has been massively gentrified (esp around Battersea Park) over the years so and its also very close to Kings Road (about 15min drive) so I think many of them also live close by.
If they hadn’t telegraphed their plans 14 months in advance, they could have passed this off as only just realizing Louis wouldn’t tolerate the daily commute like his older siblings, which would be a quasi-relevant factor in switching schools. After the Jubbly antics, no one would question that reasoning. However, reason and logic rarely apply to the Cambridges’ decisions.
Can someone elaborate on why the commute is hellish? I lived in London for a semester abroad, but obviously my commute was always via tube or train so it’s not like I know what driving is like. In the US, my commute to high school was always 30+ minutes and that’s just normal. Is it just traffic? Because otherwise it looks perfectly close and I’m just confused.
Its the traffic. Distance wise, this is closer than their new school (comparing KP to TB and then AC to Lambrook) but I imagine the commute will be a lot easier in Windsor than central London.
I’m confused about this, too. I live 3 miles away from where I work, and it takes me 30 minutes to get there with traffic. It’s not super fun, I don’t love it, but it’s… normal? It’s definitely not brutal… that would be my coworkers who spend 1+ hours travelling 15 miles. To be fair, I don’t know exactly how far KP is or what the traffic patterns are in London.
There is a good school about a five minute walk from their Kensington Palace home, St Mary’s Abbott that my friend sent his daughters to and the Cameron’s sent their children to. It’s a good school, I never understood why they didn’t make life easy for themselves and their children and send them there when the children became of school age.
Yeah, the line about how it would be hard to be a FT working royal being based in Norfolk is not the flex that the “source” seems to think it is.
they were never supposed to be “based” in Norfolk, they were always supposed to be based in London. They received Apt 1A FIRST, and then got Anmer Hall, where they immediately decamped for several years. That was never supposed to be the plan. they were supposed to start as FT royals when they came back from Wales and George was born and instead they fled to norfolk. Then in 2017 they promised they would finally be FT royals and then Kate got pregnant with Louis and then they were too busy driving H&M out of the country to really focus on their own work.
And even if it was hard to be a FT royal from Norfolk, that’s why they had an “apartment” at Kensington Palace, FFS. And even if they want the kids to have more outdoor space – lots of people want that and make do with what they have. And with the kids all in school FT and being able to go to Norfolk for weekends and extended breaks, they all have plenty of access to being outside without other people around.
I am tickled that the DM etc are all finally talking about that other house in Scotland. It seems they haven’t mentioned it in years and now they’re hammering home the point about the Cambridge’s fourth home.
If they wanted a normal, country-based lifestyle for their children during the school year they could have stayed at Anmer, sent the kids to a Norfolk school and helicoptered around and visited charities up there. Kate has charities up north like EACH, and the royals have been criticized in the past for being too London-centric in their appearances. They could have spun a Norfolk-based full-time royal as a great thing for the country.
Also, during the pandemic they were supposedly still full time royals while based at Anmer and were praised for making visits to the charities and businesses of the northern UK peasants. Despite being called a full-time royal, Kate generally steps out only once a week during the school year, so let’s not pretend living in Norfolk would prevent her from finding someplace to pop in and offer the odd smile here or there once a week .
Burger King could easily handle his once a week appearance in the London area via helicopter, which he uses all the time anyway. They didn’t need to uproot the kids to a new home and new school for yard space and privacy, and I hope Charlotte and George can adjust well as they will now need to integrate into already formed friend groups at the new school.
See, this all makes sense except for one thing:
If they lived in Norfolk, how would Prince Peggington galavant around London with his mistresses?
If William wants to move to Windsor, he should give up KP apartment . Too expensive and wasteful to maintain his KP apartment which is actually a mansion that spread over 4 storey high.
But there’s lots of roses to be pruned at Kensington…
I remember Harry and Meghan being attacked for wanting to leave the goldfish bowl of KP. Where’s the outrage from the royal rota now who had insisted at the time that Harry and Meghan had to live in London? It’s been interesting to see these reporters and William and Kate try to justify this move.
This, and Harry and Meghan were in a 2 bedroom cottage, not remotely comparable to Apt 1A.
The nanny thing drives me nuts. The servants quarters are literally on their driveway. The way they are getting away with this “no live-in” staff is bonkers.
Yeah, this was very careful to say Kate was letting go of ‘live-in nanny, Maria’ not that she was letting her go full stop. Other stories have been explicit in saying that Maria will continue to work for them so this is really mealy mouthed.
the end is missing from the sentence.. letting her go (home at night)
Yes! It’s such a load of crap. They really do think people are too stupid to look up a picture of the house with the enormous servants quarters right behind it.
I love the Sussex Squad receipts showing articles from when this house was a possibility for the Sussexes it was described as a mansion and now, for the Cambs, it’s described as modest. 🙄🙄
As a lawyer I dream of having members of the Sussex Squad as a clients along their bankers boxes full of receipts. To be fair, to ME that house looks like a giant mansion complete with guest quarters. It just isn’t an enormously giant mansion…
@LIZ-yeah to the normal pleb this is a mansion complete with staff quarters and huge grounds but I guess when you live at KP apt 1A this can be called a cottage. I guess they are betting on people like me who picture the house that Kate Winslet lived in in The Holiday when you hear the word cottage but I also know better when it comes to the royals.
So many questions – but I’m going to start with this one:
Do we think they are paying for Adelaide out of ‘private funds’ rather than taxpayer money because it’s Kate’s separation home so she will no longer be working for the Firm and her home being paid for by taxpayers can therefore not be justified?
The RF love to not pay for anything unless they have to. If this latest line is true – that they need Adelaide so they can continue royal work – then not getting it paid by taxpayers is off brief and weird for them.
I think the emphasis on it being paid for privately is weird too. William is too cheap to pay for anything himself unless he has to (i.e. part of a separation agreement?) I don’t see Charles or the Queen willingly coughing up more money for another house for them unless they have to for some reason (again, part of a separation agreement? Maybe the Queen agreed to pay the rent for AC for the next 14 years – until Louis is 18 – in a lump sum now as part of the separation?) Carole didn’t put in all that work to pay for Kate’s house.
But at any rate, the emphasis on being paid for “privately” makes sense if there’s a separation and this is the first step to Kate not being a working royal anymore.
Saying they rent it makes no sense because it isn’t one of the properties controlled and rented by the Crown Estate. It is described as a grace-and-favor house that the Queen allows people to live in. So are they paying rent to QE?
“Privately” in the past has simply meant that Charles pays it. “Market rate” for people like Princess and Prince Michael of Kent, once they were forced to pay it and not simply gifted their houses in a grace and favor scheme, meant less than open market rent. Rest assured the Cambridges are paying next to nothing or we would know the cost.
@ The Hench, no matter how they try desperately to explain, and fail, their reasons for another massive mansion with millions of taxpayer funds, the Brits are certainly up in arms. Of the responses that I read yesterday’s DF column, they were all up in arms about this fourth home. There was even criticism of Waity not working.
As for their consideration for all other UK citizens, they don’t care one iota about them. And if they are paying for anything regarding this home, it will be some ugly tchotchkes that CopyKeen bought that was seen in Montecito….
@ Becks1, I agree with your assessment. Bullyiam has neither the desire nor money to pay for another home. AC will be paid for by QEII or some other source. And the comments were not kind yesterday as many were complaining that the taxpayer funds were increased to a million pounds last year and that the Lambridges don’t care about how this looks. They aren’t buying this story either as it is being purchased with their own funds.
@ The Hench, wait a darn tootin’ minute……I am now wondering IF the millions of £££££’s missing from EarthSh!t was the pot that they stole from to pay for AC????? It’s certainly NOT a stretch of my imagination, as Willy the Woodpegger has been know to take a little of off the top, for “processing fees”……
I think that is a very strong possibility!!!!! I may be wrong but past behaviours……
‘out of their private funds’ = out of their allowance from The Duchy. The Windsors like to pretend The Duchy of Cornwall belongs to them privately. Charles isn’t paying for Kate’s divorce house out of his actual own money, nor is William the Skinflint paying out any additional personal funds for Kate after the huge investment in Midd Manor 2.0 from his Diana inheritance.
Bahahaha “the move allows them to continue (working) as they have been, all day, everyday?!” In what parallel universe do these people live?? When was the last time we saw Willy Woodpegger (thank you to whoever thought up that gem!) and Kkkeen working? A month ago? And when was the last time they did anything other than simply attend some form of sporting event as work? A year ago? The flop tour? All day, everyday my ass.
My goodness it must be nice to be a RR and just write whatever lies and nonsense you want. I’m glad to see more of the UK public is not longer buying the crap they’re shoveling though. The comments are definitely not skewing toward supportive or understanding or swallowing this bull.
It’s funny because if – as most of us here think – this is a precursor to a divorce, I feel like the better PR would have been just to announce it now and explain this is Kkkeen’s separation home and they ask for privacy and support at this time. This way they could have blunted a little bit of criticism. Maybe? But the Cambs and their advisors are all just too stupid to come up with any kind of better plan. Too bad, so sad 🤷🏽♀️
@ SussexWatcher, they are such masters of lies, I don’t know why they thought that this big AC push would pass. They don’t work and the numbers don’t LIE!! They do live in a parallel world if they count their shopping and pegging as working. When as the last time we saw them spend an entire day, not counting the Jubbly, working? During their flop tour they were scuba diving as the drinks poured constantly at night. Their version of working is not equivalent to anyone else’s definition.
In addition to their uselessness, no one is biting that bit that it will be privately funded, as many were claiming that they waited this long to move so that CopyKeen could complete her massive renovation, at the costs of their taxes. They were slinging Waity, Lazy, Selfish. You name it and it was being slung. Brits are biggly, biggly mad and they aren’t done with them yet.
Kudos to Willy the Woodpegger, who ever came up with that appropriate name.
Yeah, that part made me LOL. The Do-Nothings are finally getting called out, here’s hoping this is the tip of the iceberg.
@SussexWatcher, that line took me right out! One of the most unintentionally hilarious things to ever be said about these two. Instant classic
I notised that one too, LOL! They couldn’t write work, because they don’t, so they used a different phrase. If the brits really are reacting negatively to forth home, and lack of work, they knew they couldn’t use that word.
Am I the only one that doesn’t think the privacy was that bad in London? Yes they got papped every now and then but for the most part they were left alone. What are they planning to do? Never show the kids until they’re all 18? That doesn’t make sense considering how prominent they featured in the jubilee.
@chloe, I agree. They were deeply protected by the British media and were never photographed driving in and out of Kensington. Never photographed inside restaurants and bars and clubs. Never photographed inside stores. The privacy of which they speak is from the courtiers, not the media. Perhaps if their children weren’t hidden and cloistered until mommy and daddy need a PR boost seeing them wouldn’t be such a novelty.
Remember William the Incandescent’s rant to the media about not wanting George to grow up “behind palace walls?” Now not even the walls of KP were enough; he needs an entire park of walls.
@ Chloe & @Blujfly, agree on all points. I remember recently that picture of them at a food stand and someone took a picture and Billy the Bully had the one photo in which they looked “normal” removed.
I agree. And as for the kids needing private outdoor space, wasn’t the Christmas or birthday photo that one year of Woodpegger lounging on the grass while G and C played with him taken in their huge walled-in KP garden? In the photo, an 8 or 10’ high brick wall fence is clearly shown behind them. They clearly have private outdoor space.
I think that black and white photo (with George in his parents’ arms and charlotte sitting feet away by herself) was part of the Vanity Fair spread but you’re absolutely right.
@ Sussex Watcher, the video of W&K sitting on stacks of hey with the children around them as they melt marshmallows was actually held at Adelaide Cottage!!
It was featured on CBS This Morning in their broadcast. So they apparently have been spending time at AC, since there were pictures and video provided to media.
Who would have thought!!
(CBS online, as they have clips.)
Yeah, they were quite thoroughly shielded. Even when the media was rabid for pics of George, they still backed down when William lashed out at them. This (along with other things) makes me think that this separation is serious and even has the potential to become official if it isn’t already. I can see why some posters think a divorce is in the works.
yeah they were definitely pretty shielded. considering how few pictures we saw of them “out and about” (I’m thinking of the ice cream visit a few months ago, and I think that’s it for the past year?), unless they were holed up in KP 24/7 (which I doubt) they were pretty well shielded.
Someone mentioned on one of these posts – I think it was today but can’t remember – that London is full of famous people and for the most part people just let them live their lives and aren’t all up in their business when they see them. It reminded me of NYC and even LA – people were so appalled that H&M were moving to the paparazzi capital of the US but people in those areas are so used to seeing famous people that it stops registering after a while. Maybe the royals stand out a little more, but it seems to me that in general they would blend in better in London than they would in Windsor.
There was that completely staged “take all the kids to a pub” pic about a year ago, and the weird video of Willnot taking Charlotte into a birthday party, but that’s all I can come up with.
Imagine being the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess William (?), future PoW and QC and still insecure and wanting to be the Queen B. Despite all she has it must drive her crazy that there are STILL a certain people who thinks she is not and will never be good enough.
You’ve just described the sickness of British society in a nutshell.
I’m so glad we don’t have aristos in my country.
This is why the palace maintains the contract with the tabloids. A 4th home in a cost of living crisis is an unpopular move but the Palace has the press to mute & manage criticism. Even in this piece, the critique is measured & is contained with the idea W&K couldn’t be senior royals in Norfolk as if they don’t also have KP& couldn’t just be based at KP. Meanwhile I read a piece about Little Village -the baby bank Meghan highlighted prior to Archie’s birth & which Kate has visited recently and it describes anticipating record need this winter & families with young kids living on the floor.
William lived at KP for years & apparently they chose an apartment there as a forever home so where was this concern about lack of privacy especially when the kids have been based there for years? Also I thought the press said privacy was bad when H&M were moving to Windsor or when they said they would show the baby a few days after birth to celebrate privately first?
There’s definitely more to this move than meets the eye which is why even the bbc is throwing H&M’s California home in v the ‘humble’ Adelaide cottage as red meat
@ABritGuest
“William lived at KP for years & apparently they chose an apartment there as a forever home so where was this concern about lack of privacy especially when the kids have been based there for years?”
We must stop worrying about all the lies and half-truths being peddled by the RR. They’re just doing their job.
THE AWFUL TRUTH: There is a serious issue in the Cambridge marriage. Kate is leaving because it has become too toxic, even for her. Or, she’s leaving at William’s insistence. No one believes William is going to live in Adelaide Cottage. That’s basically it.
I find it rather funny that for the last year, the press has ignored the fact that this is the Cambridge’s 4th house and just when W&K thought the coast was clear, the press brings it up on the eve of their move. Well played British press, well played.
I am right there with you.
Damn, how did I never think to demand my church pay for that NoHo triplex we toured just for the hell of it while apartment hunting? How can I possibly be expected to effectively run the food program from anything less than a $30K/month luxury home?!
Oh, that’s right, it’s because such demands defeat the purpose of charity work. Which is, after all, all these useless people do (and even then, only when their in-laws are getting more attention for genuine charity work).
They were never based in Norfolk lol. Yes back when George was going to nursery but from 2017 when they became full time royals officially, didn’t that make them based in London? I understand the school commute being difficult but why not pick a school closer to them in the surrounding area?
Me again. Just wrapping up the other weirdnesses around this.
RR: Adelaide cottage is so the kids can have plenty of room to play in the countryside privately.
Me: WTF is Anmer for then?
RR: KP is too overlooked and nowhere for kids to play.
Me: NOT what you said when H&M wanted to move to Windsor. Also, how did W&K not know the situation when they promised to stay there long-term? It’s not like William grew up there or anything…
RR: They have to have Adelaide as their fourth home because it has the space AND the proximity to work.
Me: Fine. Get rid of Anmer then at the very least. Ideally, if Adelaide is the perfect combo why not get rid of KP too or, at least downsize?
The only thing that really makes sense is that there has been a separation so here’s my interpretation:
Kate has AC as her separation house – that’s why it’s a) small, b) close to mummy, c) paid for ‘privately’ and d) close to a new school with, one hopes, no other mummies Will has been friendly with.
They are keeping Anmer because W is going to – as his father did before him- use it as a private lovenest. Because KP IS too overlooked for him to whisk other women in and out.
They are keeping KP because W doesn’t want to live with K any more so that’s where he will be based for what little work he does.
All of this. Remember Kate painting all the walls of 1A puple when she was pregnant, then came to her senses post-partum?
I defo remember Will saying 1A was their permanent home, and that their jaunts around England & Wales were temporary while they were first married, or while they had George etc. But that it would all change and 1A was their foreverhome.
But I won’t be able to put the heating on or afford to cook dinner, so swings and roundabouts I spose =/
I think your interpretation is correct. its really the only thing that actually makes sense here.
Hench – yess, everything you said makes sense that none of this makes any sense. There is definitely something else going on behind the scenes and if they actually had any sense (clearly they don’t) they would just get it all out now instead of trying to hide what’s really happening. Once again they think they’re the smartest people in the room when they’re just stupid and incompetent.
Aristos do separations without moves and school changes. Both KP and Anmer are enormous, they would not need to run into each other. Kate would be 100% amenable to this.
The situation must be toxic with him on the premises or he is insisting she and the kids leave.
Ding! Ding! I agree with all of this 100%. It’s the only reasonable explanation.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner @ The Hench!!!!
So well executed and truthful!! They are the dumbest members of the Windsors for the last five centuries, and that says a lot with Dicky included.
I remember reading that even the Queen was surprised when they moved in to Anmer- she seems to have intended it more as a country getaway, not a permanent base.
The school run excuse has never made sense – all three children could also have enrolled at Thomas’s too, right? And okay, let’s imagine that the Cambridges misjudged the traffic to Battersea Sure. Are there…no schools closer to KP? It’s some pretty weak sauce.
100%. Spot on!
Added to this – what if it took Kate a whole year+ to accept this new separation arrangement during which she threw a giant rage threatening to tell all and thus she is now « just getting » AC as a token home and huge cut to her « funding ».
Puffing her up 2021-2022 with: the 40th bday midlife crisis pageant photo spread, articles lauding her as the perfect Queen Consort & Xmas piano playing fandango – blew up in her face. I only imagine roar of Aristo snickering.
I predict we will see fewer & fewer appearances by Kate as part of the phase out plan. Her trotting her children out to events is her only playing card as she is no longer really tied to viable charity work other than « glam work ». I expect Will to take the reigns as the front man (which too will fall flat).
The real estate shuffle is indicative of Kate’s final demotion. I hope due to media pressure, they’re forced to drop one of their properties.
If they are separating , as it appears.
Moving Kate to AC could be a way to make sure she is contained within the compound and shielding her from the press…If they are worried about her becoming a problem further down the road
I think there’s a lot of truth to this too. If she’s shielded away in Windsor, then nobody can hear from her. Just because we all think Keen is timid and doesn’t like to rock the boat, doesn’t mean she can’t put up a fight behind closed doors. She gives as good as it gets, remember?
You don’t stalk a Prince for 10 years for him to finally give in by being quiet and shy. Keen is far from that and it’s been proven many times.
Very nice connecting of all the dots, The Hench.
“It would have been extremely difficult for them to continue on as senior working royals…” Oh no, not the Cambridges bluffing that they, too, could stop being full time royals unless their demands are met. Heaven forbid. However would we tell if they had stopped since they work so sporadically?
Truly though, I would love for just one person to ask: what exactly is stopping you from doing this job? What exactly takes up so much of your time that you can’t even do a ribbon cutting once a week? Maybe instead of them threatening to quit, the Brits should just fire them.
100% agree with everything you said. Fire them!!
The mental gymnastics these people use to justify the move!!! Does anyone with a working brain buy all these? I wonder… anyhow, I have to admit that they are quite successful.. they move in their 4th house without any real questions, criticism or reaction.
Louis could have joined his siblings at Thomas’ Battersea this very year, right? Does Joe Little really have no shame? Truly, the royal media is nothing but spokespeople and stenographers.
May I add that if William wants to retain KP apartment, he should pay rent for it and also reimburse the renovation cost since he broke his promise to stay there forever.
This would be fair to Prince Harry who paid for the renovation cost for Frogmore and pay rent for it. Otherwise it would be double standards and unfair that the royal siblings are not treated equally.
Unfortunately, they could never be treated equally because one of them is the heir and the other one is the spare..
@Noor “Fair”
HAHHAHAHAHHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAA
[gasp]
HAHAHHAHHAAHHHAAAAAAHAHAHAH
@ AmB, Ditto all the way to the bank!!!
Unlike Willy the Peggler, “fair” has never entered his mind in the slightest, he runs the gamete of “needs” ie, demands.
With all these explanations and justifications for the move, KP knows the optics are bad. The funny thing about the announcement on KP paper, it only has William’s monogram, not the Cambridge joint cypher.
Interesting……. I didn’t catch that. Excellent spot on!!
The only reason to keep KP is if Will continues to live there. The offices are in KP but separate from their mansion and could, and should, be moved to BP. The stress that he will be a hands on father is a bit much and probably a cover for him living separate.
Why they made this move now is the real question. It’s nothing they’ve claimed so far. Something that drove Kate out of London or a separation?
If the nanny isn’t in the house, that means her day ends at some point. If Kate is living there alone, is she single handedly taking care of the kids if one wakes at night? Their day must start pretty early. Is she equipped to handle breakfast before the staff arrive? I’m really having trouble picturing Kate as a single mom alone in the house with three kids, even if it’s only while they’re sleeping.
@ BettyRose, no, on all counts. She may know where the biscuits are but that’s it.
My guess is the nanny is always on call.
Nanny Maria might be the head nanny, but she is definitely not the only nanny. They’ll probably just work in shifts, with the “non-live-in staff” living with the rest of the Windsor Castle staff a short walk away.
That’s why the move closer to mummy is necessary. Kate will be a single parent albeit one who’s set for life. She will never be waiting for child support check so she can pay rent..
I think there will still be at least one housekeeper and kitchen staff to run the day to day household tasks and meal planning. Kate *might* be able to pour cereal into a bowl, but that’s about the extent of it.
Plus, remember that this is only an issue for them now, while everyone is scrutinizing the fourth house purchase. Give it a few months and I have no doubt that nanny Maria will essentially live in once more “while William is away” on trips to NY, for example.
Bulliam is no good. They need to remove him from the line of succession
Abraham Lincoln became one of the best American presidents and he was born in a shack. Try again, assholes.
they are essentially using the same argument to defend having 4 houses that they use do defend their use of helicopters. “yes, but…”
And, while I’m here, does anybody else find the use of “different to” in Little’s quote about George to sound jarring? when what he is trying to say is actually “different FROM”?
Kids in school full time and old enough to be, and they act like they’re heroes for only keeping the nanny on full time and living on site but not actually in their house.
Everybody get out the tiny violins…
What they ought to do is give up the place in Scotland and Amner Hall, and then it MIGHT make sense financially. William can stay in Kensington (which, as a future king, makes sense), and she can stay in the new place (pretending that they both are there). People keep saying the new place is a step down, but honestly, I’ve seen the pictures. It’s still enormous by most people’s standards.
There is always a reason why they need more, but never a reason for them to do more. Do the math. It doesn’t add up. It never will. They are 100 percent burden, 0 percent asset.
This is why having a FORMER (not present) monarchy is good for tourism — they can open up these ridiculous multiple mansions/palaces to the public.
Kate’s arms look like she boxes. Bet she has a photo of PWT on the punching bag.