In 2021, credible reports began circulating that Prince William and Kate were looking to move out of London and into a more country/suburban setting. William and Kate were basically publicly begging QEII and then-Prince Charles to “give” them a large estate. W&K even threatened to buy or rent a mansion in Berkshire for their purposes. In 2022, just a few months before QEII’s passing, they were given Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom home on the Royal Windsor estate, just a stone’s throw from Frogmore Cottage. I always had my own theories about all of this, and I still believe Adelaide mostly functions as Kate’s “separate” home, while William spends most of his time in London or elsewhere. I never believed that Adelaide is sufficiently grand for a “future king,” and I also believe William basically maintains a bachelor pad somewhere in Windsor, possibly a suite in Windsor Castle.
In the three years since William became the Prince of Wales, I’ve continued to wonder why William doesn’t just buy a larger family home or demand a larger existing royal property. It’s weird that they’re all still maintaining that, for sure, the whole Wales fam lives in Adelaide with no live-in staff. Well, there’s some movement! No, they haven’t convinced Prince Andrew to abandon Royal Lodge (which they absolutely tried and failed to do). Now they really want to get their hands on Fort Belvedere, which is also on the Windsor estate. I remember when the Fort was suggested (by William and Kate) back in 2021/22. I think QEII and Charles flatly refused. But now maybe it’s happening?
For three years, the Prince and Princess of Wales have brought their children up at Adelaide Cottage, a peaceful refuge in the grounds of Windsor Castle. But the cosy, four-bedroom house, which is relatively modest by royal standards, was never going to be the ‘forever home’ for William, Kate, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.
Royal sources have told The Mail on Sunday that the prince and princess are considering upsizing to a grander residence. One option, according to sources, could be Fort Belvedere, a magnificent gothic-revival mansion nestled in a hidden corner of Windsor Great Park.Built in the 18th century, Fort Belvedere became the favourite home of Edward VIII, who lived there before he became monarch and after he abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. In fact, it was there that he signed the papers which sealed his infamous abdication in 1936.
The sprawling, grade II-listed property is set in 59 acres of grounds and has an outdoor swimming pool and tennis court, which sources say is particularly appealing for Kate and Charlotte, both of whom are enthusiasts. Known as The Fort, the country house also features a rose garden, walled garden, kitchen garden, large greenhouse, stables, two lakes, paddocks and three cottages for staff.
One well-connected source told the MoS: ‘They feel they have outgrown Adelaide Cottage and need somewhere more substantial. This is the perfect new home for them. It has a swimming pool and tennis court, and Charlotte loves playing tennis.’
The MoS understands that although the royal couple are considering their options, no move is imminent.
William and Kate, both 43, have previously been linked with a potential move to Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion in Windsor where Prince Andrew lives, but Andrew resisted pressure from the King to leave.
This newspaper has learnt that an alternative plan involved the prince and princess and their family moving into a wing of Windsor Castle. However, that is also understood to no longer be viable.
The couple moved from Kensington Palace in west London to Adelaide Cottage in August 2022, along with George, 12, Charlotte, ten, and Louis, seven. Adelaide Cottage also provided a private and tranquil setting for Kate’s recovery from chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with cancer last year. Insiders say a move to a more substantial property would mark a new chapter for their family. The couple are weighing up which senior school to choose for Prince George, with Eton, where fees are more than £63,000 a year, believed to be the front-runner.
William and Kate are said to put a high value on privacy and a rural setting – two requirements they would continue to maintain if they were to move to The Fort.
One of the problems with Fort Belvedere back in 2021-22 was the fact that it was already being leased by the Weston family. Galen Weston, a Canadian billionaire, began leasing the Fort in the 1980s. He died in 2021, but his widow and the rest of the Weston family continue to use/lease the property. I guess we should take this Mail piece as a threat to the Westons, that their lease will soon get yanked? Perhaps. Honestly, this is the kind of property William and Kate wanted in the first place, and Adelaide was always thought to be some kind of temporary solution or placeholder until they moved into some larger castle or mansion.
This is interesting too: “This newspaper has learnt that an alternative plan involved the prince and princess and their family moving into a wing of Windsor Castle. However, that is also understood to no longer be viable.” Bonkers – Charles and Camilla are splitting their time between Clarence House, Buckingham Palace, Highgrove, Ray Mill, Sandringham, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Birkhall, Castle of Mey and like five other homes I’m forgetting. And they still wouldn’t let the Waleses move into one wing of Windsor Castle. Hilarious. I love how consistent it is – they treat Windsor Castle like it’s this cramped space with limited suites. It’s a 1,000-room Norman castle!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace’s social media, Cover Images.
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- Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales sit for an official photo with The Prince of Wales’s company at a St David’s Day parade with members of the 1st Battalion, The Welsh Guards in Windsor England, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. It is the first time The Prince has visited the Welsh Guards since becoming Colonel of the Regiment.,Image: 759474294, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Alastair Grant / Avalon
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- Catherine Princess of Wales and Prince William sit in the Ascot Landau carriage during the Carriage Procession in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron Ceremonial Welcome and Inspection of the Guard of Honour, Windsor Castle, UK – 08 Jul 2025,Image: 1019675609, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock/Avalon
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- London, UK. 87th July, 2025. Catherine, the Princess of Wales and William, the Prince Of Wales. The King and, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales and the French President and his wife, Mr and Mrs Macron, as well as the French Ambassador and others, take a carriage procession through Windsor and along part of the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle as part of the French State Visit.,Image: 1019688100, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter/Avalon
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- Princess Catherine – The Princess of Wales and Prince William – The Prince of Wales at the Ceremonial Welcome for the State Visit of The President of France Emmanuel Macron at Windsor in Windsor, England, UK on Tuesday 8 July, 2025.,Image: 1019688178, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Princess Catherine – The Princess of Wales and Prince William – The Prince of Wales at the Ceremonial Welcome for the State Visit of The President of France Emmanuel Macron at Windsor in Windsor, England, UK on Tuesday 8 July, 2025.,Image: 1019688189, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Members of the British Royal Family at the annual Order of the Garter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 16 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales during the Ceremonial Welcome for the state visit to the UK of the President of France Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, William, Prince of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 08 Jul 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I don’t think William spent much time at Adelaide cottage
Of course not! I think it’s clear that he lives in London and visits his children at Winston where he stays…do people believe that the prince of Wales condescends in living in such small house with no live in stuff? Come on…it was clearly Kate’s place and neither she nor her mother were enthusiastic about such a small residence was given to her (by their standards). I remember an article where it was stated how the children and especially George were going to feel embarrassed when a friend of their school visited them in a such a humble cottage…and another one, after Kate’s cancer, I think, where it was mentioned that Adelaide cottage is too small for her convalescence..Kate and her family fight for a bigger and greater home and it seems that they will finally get it. Perhaps that was the reason for William’s grumpiness during his last engagements with Kate…
I’ve never believed they live in Adelaide. I think they have been in the castle all along, but want to deflect the media for some reason. This is just another round of deflection.
Kate said, William doesnt even have an office in adelaide, becuase it’s so small!
…then again, ,why would william ever need an office space, let alone AT HOME??? For what???
Interesting. And yet here’s this article saying Adelaide was PERFECT for Kate’s recovery. They forget what they’ve written!
This is Carole and Kate fighting for a grander separation home.
I doubt he’s slept there even once.
Here is my theory: I still believe that Can’t has some sort of leverage over Peg and she wants a bigger place. I seriously doubt Peg will live with her (he can’t stand doing events with her and it shows) this is just something for her and the children and a place for Ma and Pa Midds to stay too frequently.
He didn’t. The media confirmed as much when they said that each child had their own space and that William and Kate didn’t often sleep together. For a family of five where everyone has their own room and they’re living in a home that only has four bedrooms it was always mathematically impossible for him to also live there. There were even people who noticed the regular helicopter landings at KP. I believe that prior to Kate’s “stomach surgery” Adelaide was Kate’s separation home (leading to divorce) but she used last year to renegotiate her terms so that they would all be in the same place and that William couldn’t divorce her. Her behavior prior to the surgery was very strange and interesting. I think that she was constantly grabbing his butt around the same time that talks were being shared on social media about his fondness for pegging were both signs to pull him back in and stop any plans for divorce. Now that divorce is off the table, they need to get out of Adelaide which has alway been too small, so this talk by the media as “them growing out of it” is just talks to justify the move.
I think divorce is off the table for now. He can divorce. Her if he so chooses and she has no power. Charles had his pals gaslight Diana.
Give all the homes back to the people.
Fuck the monarchy
Agreed but the peasants haven’t thrown off the leeches yet. In the meantime, they’re grifting like mad.
This is a legal lease that was for 99 years starting in 1955. They would have to buy out the leaseholders; they can’t just cancel it. Is all the stuff he has already inherited and in line for not enough for PW? He has to have whatever anybody else has also?
Well, what else will William spend his duchy money on? He’s certainly not reinvesting in his rental properties or Kate’s clothing budget.
Well, actually, according to some estimations, Kate has already spent almost 70000 pounds on her clothing budget for very limited appearances, so, he certainly gives her a substantial amount of money for her clothing…but she spends it mostly on jewellery and expensive accessories and she isn’t so obvious about it…
Yes. Willy’s a selfish dick like his father. He wants everything. Hope the Canadians make them pay off their lease. Such bad form.
Yes but also fuck the westons and their love of jacking up prices at their many grocery stores throughout Canada
@jerseycow how else could they have afforded the lease? Always on the back of peasants…
@JerseyCow — thank you for mentioning that. The Westons had to settle a major class-action lawsuit in May 2025 for $500 million related to an industry-wide price-fixing scheme involving packaged bread in Canada. They’re just as grifty as the Wails.
Yes, I am a full fledged hater in either side here! William and Kate are greedy AF and so are the Weston’s! The ridiculous airport level security they now have at their grocery stores here is ridiculous! The occasional shoplifters stealing bread is something they probably just write off on their taxes. The Westons are the reason for the Canadian saying, “if you ever see someone stealing food, no you didn’t!” Ugh! Wish their were land orcas to attack castles!
I think Charles proved with Frogmore Cottage that leases mean nothing to him.
FC was a shorter term lease and FC is in a different classification than Fort Belvedere. The lease on FC was up and didn’t get renewed. The one on FB is longer and more complicated because it wasn’t a grace-and-favor home like FC. It is managed through the Crown Estates. The lease on Andrew’s home is different from FC also. That’s why they can’t just kick him out.
Frogmore Cottage is a ‘Royal Peculiar’ meaning the lease is granted or cancelled based solely on the whims of the monarch. When Chuck wanted the Sussexes gone, they had no legal protections bc FC was a ‘Royal Peculiar’ and had to vacate the premises.
The Royal Lodge & Fort Belvedere are leased through the Crown Estate. If the tenants are abiding by the terms of their leases, they cannot be evicted. That’s why, in spite of what Chuck & William want, Andrew has not been evicted from Royal Lodge.
William has been trying to get himself a large estate, ever since Harry & Meghan moved to Montecito and the photos of their home hit the internet.
Anyhoo, this is just a rerun of 2021 and a very public pressure campaign from KP to try to prise an estate away from the legal tenants. He couldn’t get Andrew to give up Royal Lodge, so he’s making another play for Fort Belvedere.
Yes, William wanted Charles to push Andrew out of Royal Lodge and the media was used to mount a campaign about how Andrew could not afford the repairs etc. etc. The tactics failed. Fergie is formidable and always eventually lands on her feet and can only be pushed so far. Seems like they have finally given up trying to get Royal Lodge and now their sights are fixed on Fort Belvedere. Lol!
It must be nice for the lazy musty royals to have options for housing. There are an estimated 354,000 people experiencing homelessness in England. And if these two get bored with their accommodations they just pick up and move house and it’ falls into many of those unhoused because they still pay taxes.
It’s just really disgraceful how they are not held accountable for their lack of service, when that is the bare minimum they’re asked of.
I thought his ambition is to end homelessness?
Even though I already knew, and knew The Queen did the same thing, to see all the various homes that Charles shuffles among–leaving out his place in Transylvania, I notice–is just truly appalling. How can he sleep at night, knowing the state of the country, his people?
So Adelaide for Louis, Charlotte gets KP and George inherits Anmer.
Lazy needs a grand place so mother can stay with her.
I don’t think Cathy can breathe without her mother doing it for her. Her umbilical cord was never cut.
Nope, George gets the lot. He’ll decide who gets what. If the British monarchy lasts that long.
The waste of all these homes is truly disgusting when there are homeless people sleeping outside that the funds to maintain these properties would be better spent helping them.
Who really cares where these two losers live?
What’s crazy about not letting them have the wing at Windsor castle is that it could be done up in their style now and they could stay on there after William is King. Or more likely, Kate could live there while Billy Boy is in the main royal suite. Or it could become George’s.
But Charles is a pissy, petty little cheapskate with his own money, which means enormous other money is going to be spent fixing this other place up. And given how ill Charles is, W&K may never even live there.
HAHAHAHAHA. We all saw this coming. What about all the stories over the last few years about how down to earth they are because they are so happy in AC with no live in staff (since they’re across the driveway) or how normal they are in their “normal” cottage on the windsor estate?
now they’re making a very public play for Ft Belvedere- Andrew must have really shot down their attempts to get Royal Lodge, Charles is refusing Windsor Castle, so now its back to Ft Belvedere. Its interesting that they are still pushing for a bigger house when the move to Adelaide got them some of their worst criticism in recent years from the press, since the press had spent years justifying the reno costs of KP1A because it was their “permanent home.” The press was ticked about AC but KP was able to spin it as wanting privacy and something more normal.
Now they need to move so Charlotte has a swimming pool and a tennis court at her Windsor home as well as her norfolk home??
Does no one realize how this makes them sound in terms of entitlement??
But you know that they, well, deserve it, especially poor Kate, because of cancer…and somebody should think of the children and their down to earth needs! I can’t possibly explain how they get away with this without merely a criticism…nobody has mentioned their holiday on a yacht in Greece or the constant use of private jets and helicopters.. I really can’t…
I laugh whenever I see the press write “forever home.” Bc that’s what they swore KP would be. They absolutely look like assholes playing musical houses. No doubt about it. But if they move to the fort, look forward to some insta vids of Kate’s garden and her picking flowers. The Montecito home got them shook.
“ Does no one realize how this makes them sound in terms of entitlement?”
I take it this is rhetorical? I mean, holidaying on a Greek yacht owned by a foreign minister is pretty blatant so what’s another property in their expanding portfolio?
All paid by the taxpayers of course…
Half rhetorical, half not. Rhetorical in the sense that I know the Waleses don’t care and if they want a fancy mansion they’re going to stomp their feet in the press until they get one. But not rhetorical in the sense of how this is being presented. Someone is trying to sell this as “they have to move bc Charlotte needs a tennis court in her backyard!!!!” like that’s a completely normal thing.
it’s just funny to me how they still try to act like the Waleses are “normal” and “down to earth” as they vacation on a superyacht in the Greek isles and take helicopters between their many homes and whine in the press about how they need yet another mansion.
Ikr? Will no one think of this ten year old child’s true need for three separate homes with pools and tennis courts? Methinks they are already starting a habit of blaming the spare
In a pinch, there’s also a pool at Buckingham Palace. 🙄 Not sure about a tennis court, though. They’re just nowhere to be found in London! 😉
Becks, I had all the same thoughts. Three years of dutiful water carrying about how the wales don’t need staff, are fine with their “cozy” home, it only needed some paint, etc. blown to bits because they want their own personal tennis court and swimming pool (more than 1 of which are in the grounds and available at their leisure. And that dutiful mention of Kate recovering there… the clearest sign yet she spent her recovery at her parents. James Middleton’s book accidentally strongly insinuated that Kate and William spent most weekends they lived in KP at the Middletons’. Or at least Kate and the children.
@Becks1, I agree. But I also want to ask Celebitchy.com can we have a thumbs up and thumbs down button?
Hear hear
Well, I called it about the children. They have become accustomed to their privilege way too much. They don’t understand duty. They are being raised to think their positions involve rubbing shoulders with A-listers such as TS, Alcaraz and Sinner.
This was very obvious over the past year or so.
George inherits Highgrove. Charlotte gets Anmer. Louis to Frogmore. Reply to Blogger
Highgrove goes to the Rottweiler’s junkie son. The affair house wouldn’t be popular with Willy.
Yes to Charlotte getting Anmer but I don’t think she will. So I nominated KP like her grandmother.
Louis for Frogmore will be bad juju so Adelaide for him.
I expect George will officially get the lot, as the heir he avoids death duties.
Anmer is part of the Sandringham estate and Frogmore is part of the Crown estate. I dont think there is any kind of lease for Anmer but i’m not sure about that – I know they did kick out the people who did have a lease for W&K. So technically Anmer will go to George when William dies. But maybe William will gift it to Charlotte outright before then or something.
Highgrove now belongs to William or rather the duchy of Cornwall owns it. Charles has a life tenancy though. But he can’t leave it to anyone, even as a lease.
Camilla’s kids will get Raymill and whatever the estate was she just bought adjoining it. I think there’s a house on that land.
Camilla very early on made Charles set up a trust fund for both her children. Probably to prevent them from going rogue.
Ummm, WandK have a wholea$$ mansion/apartment in Kensington Palace that cost the taxpayer 4.2 million to renovate, so please spare me the sob stories about how they need a larger home, they already have several.
Not to mention Amner as well
Apart from my disgust at their greed at wanting another new home which will no doubt be re-furbished with goodness knows how many kitchens at the taxpayers expense. The following sentence stood out to me for two reasons, “This is the perfect new home for them. It has a swimming pool and tennis court, and Charlotte loves playing tennis.’”
1. Why bring Charlotte into this? If W&K want to move then let it be their decision and theirs alone. They shouldn’t be hiding behind their children.
2. Someone on Twitter pointed out that what with the tennis courts and the outdoor swimming pool W&K just wanted to try and match a certain Californian mansion. 😉
I think matching the mansion in California is exactly why this property is being coveted.. looks like the lease has been sold previously and it runs out in 2054 if I read this correctly.. I guess they could buy out the lease and finally have the aerial view to compete.. it’s like a dark cold version of the sunny California paradise property.
https://scenetherapy.com/inside-fort-belvedere-in-windsor-great-park/
A ‘dark, cold version’. 😆. Katie gonna be out there mowing all those lawns? Or will they rely on elderly pensioners as well?
FB has a lot of familiar amenities … Anywho
I always felt the move to Adelaide was 1. To deliberately piss off Harry and spy on him. The reason That didn’t even try to fight the eviction. 2. To try to get in the Queen’s ear. I think that was the biggest reason they were turned down from WC. Even at her last, the queen knew better.
Does anyone know if the heir or the heir to the heir (2021) had lived in the two main castles before as adults? I thought BP and WC were solely for the monarch.
Yeah, Pegs is absolutely trifling enough kick a family out of their home so he can take it.
A few of you are suggesting which child will inherit which property. I honestly hope that Charlotte and Louis get property that is bought out right for them like Anne’s. Forbid they end up in a situation like H and Pegs. They don’t need that possibility as a threat hanging over their heads.
That’s the only logical way I can think of why they need THREE LONDON HOMES: FB, AC and KP. Even aristos only had/have one townhouse for the season.
So this property greed by them does not make sense unless they are estate planning.
Yes highly likely to Charlotte and Louis being bought their own homes but Mama Middleton would want her own dowager house too.
I don’t know about Windsor pre Victoria but since then they’ve been the home of the monarch. Edward VII lived at Marlborough house (London) and sandringham. George V lived at Frogmore, Marlborough House and York cottage (sandringham). Edward VIII lived at fort Belvedere but may have had bachelor quarters at BP. Elizabeth lived in Clarence House. Charles lived in BP and Windsor I think as a bachelor and then Highgrove and KP.
Pretty sure QEII lived at BP while in London. Her mother lived at Clarence House.
Frankly, I don’t care what properties these rich spoilt children will inherit.
George gets it all outside of the properties leased out. Charlotte and Louis will have to beg for what they want. Just as how this dysfunctional system intended. And it’s why Harry is never coming back.
If Willi and Kate move to a bigger home I am wondering who is going to pay for the renovation to up-date and make the building suitable for the Waleses. I am wondering if Willi will dare to ask the tax payer to fit the bill, probably not after the public outcry over Harry and Meghan and Frogmore.
Since Ft. Belvedere is being maintained by Canadian billionaires, I would doubt there would be much renovation needed.
I would also doubt Charles would let a profitable lease be bought out.
If they want to renovate for whatever reason (for example they don’t like the colour of the walls or something), they will. It doesn’t matter how well maintained it is.
Let’s not forget Kate redid the Anmer kitchen which had been renovated in a modern way a few years before they got it.
She would do the same here.
This Canadian billionaires seems to be and older couple and their family. Galen Weston died in 2021 and it appears that it is still occupied by the widow and the rest of the family. The needs of a family with young children is differently and the taste might also be differently, even re-painting would be a major job in this kind of property.
Hillary Weston, former lieutenant Governor General of Ontario is older, but her son Galen Weston jr is much younger and runs the Loblaws grocery chains among other things.
If the lease is another 30 years he’s not going to drop it for free.
Currently, I don’t think Charles will allow Kate and William to kick out the Canadian billionaires. However, once Chuck dies, I do think Willie will boot those people just like Megan and Harry were booted out of Frogmore. He’ll be king then and nothing to stop him. I think this was a warning to the people who are currently leasing the place. Get prepared, because when I’m King, you’re out.
Frogmore cottage was classified as a royal peculiar which means the monarch decides who can live in it. Fort Belvedere and Royal Lodge have leases that cannot be broken on a whim. Money will need to be provided. That’s why Andrew is still where he is at. The Westons have the money to challenge Willie ignoring a lease. He can’t afford to do that.
Sure is interesting to drop in the fact about Fort Belvedere being the place where Edward abdicated…
I agree M! First William the Lazy proposes with his dead mothers cursed engagement ring and now they want to move into a house that was central to one of the largest crises to hit the BRF, he’s certainly playing with fire. Or is William sending out a subtle message, if an abdication can happen once, it can happen twice?
lol.. I was wondering that also.
Honestly, if William really, truly wanted to ruin Harry’s life, he would abdicate and remove his line from the succession. Will doesn’t want the top job, but Harry wants it even less.
William can’t abdicate for his children.
Only a monarch can abdicate anyway. William can remove himself from the line of succession. It would be a constitutional argument as to whether his children would also be removed.
I don’t think Willy has the guts to ever remove himself or his children from the line of succession. He only uses it as blackmail to stomp his feet and get what he wants.
All this property hunting signals to me that he’s a very lost man who needs to do plenty of soul-searching.
The sheer arrogance of these two grifters is now apparent to many disgruntled and appalled people.
Finally the Wails pair are being hauled up for their disgraceful abuse of privilege. They are now getting a dose of reality and will not be let off the hook with this self serving behavior. This very article has many people commenting in the DM and the majority is unfavorable to say the least.
People are listing grievances from them being billionaires and they can pay for it themselves, renovations likewise including a jumbo sized wardrobe for their daughter’s designer clothes, the time that they would take off (at least a year) so they could move, and pretty much everything in-between.
The Wails pair have stirred up a hornets nest rather than the butterflies and flowers they expected everyone to swallow.
The homelessness that Bill Wails has been shouting about and saying must be fixed has now come back to bite him on the butt because they have billions so he can use his money to provide housing for the deserving as well as himself.
Now for the first time the real people whose hard earned money has funded the laziest two in the BRF are saying No.
That No means No and that is a powerful No.
One article does not a revolution make. And the Fail still hasn’t covered the Greek yacht, so I guess the KP Fail comment bots are on holidays too.
It doesn’t take a revolution to abolish the monarchy. Only a referendum that passes.
I don’t see Hilary Weston giving up her home for Peg and Waity. Galen, her husband was a friend of her husband’s for decades, and Charles played on his polo team, The Maple Leafs. Frankly, if I were in her shoes, I would tell them to fuck off, sotto voce.
Her son Galen isn’t a pushover either. This family has connections all over and have grown the business even more from just groceries. They have their hands in medical business as well as in banking through PC financial.
This isn’t like dealing with Andrew.
Good start for Willy’s kingship to piss off the Canadians then.
@Nic919 – surely you mean Harry? Andrew is still in their first choice residence: Royal Lodge. I can’t stand the bloke with a passion but, the whining and manoeuvring by W&K to oust him from his home all coming to nowt does make me chuckle. If they had truly had wanted him gone William could have “dobbed Andrew in” to the FBI anytime he wanted.
But to maintain access to those circles, you have to do what they ask. There may be quiet negotiations, etc. and perhaps you get something else out of it, but ultimately it’s give them their way or social suicide. If Charles asks them to give up the lease, they will.
Harry and Meghan had a royal peculiar which did not have a regular lease. But Andrew might be there for now, but he also has to pay for the upkeep on his own which is cannot afford at all.
The Weston’s are independently wealthy and there is no leverage against them financially.
Laura D I’m not so sure that Royal Lodge was their first choice. I think that FB would have been their first choice if it weren’t for the fact that it was already being leased at the time of their move. I think of what was available to the royals at the time, RL became a choice just because they wanted to move into Windsor to spy on the Sussexes whenever they snuck into the UK and to maybe influence the Queen. I also think AC was at the time a good separation home for Kate while William either stayed at KP or on occasion Windsor Castle.
Casual glance at comments under this Fail article and I was surprised at the number of hostile responses they allowed to be posted. Brutal references to austerity UK is facing and Will’s positioning himself as a campaigner against homelessness. More typical were dude is going to be king and needs castle and castle equivalent mansions to reside his balding head on a satin pillow. Why should he stint himself and restrict to just two houses when he has a VAST property portfolio to choose from? We are all just jealous, jealous, jealous and do not understand the many burdens he carries out on a nation’s behalf? Is it really too much for him to rotate between a castle or two and various mansions so he can visit the unwashed and wave at the homeless as he travels by at speed?
That’s a thought – he and Lazy could do a couple of fixer-uppers on their tenanted homes and make them liveable to their standard.
Habitat for Humanity, I mean, Windsors.
Windsor Castle is “no longer” viable? When was it viable? Why is it not viable now?
And W&K have outgrown Adelaide? Now that George will be leaving to go to boarding school?
It was never viable for them – I think someone from Charles’ team came out and said that WC was for the monarch, so that ended the castle push from W&K.
But i was reading that line a bit differently – I think W&K let the WC thing drop bc they thought Charles was going to die soon so it would be a non issue. “no longer viable” tells me that Charles isn’t quite at death’s door so W&K realize they need a plan B since they have never liked AC.
Lol, that was my take, also. “Rats, Dad’s on the mend.”
William just looks greedy here because we did not hear stories of Charles wanting to take over Windsor Castle when his mother was alive. It has always been the residence of the monarch, at least in modern history.
William was never going to get Windsor castle prior to being king. But just like the move to Adelaide meant something more than what the press is telling us, this desire to acquire Fort Belvedere is the media saying something else is in the works. They won’t get it though. The Weston’s are a powerful family and it’s not just an elderly widow they are dealing with.
I thought the same. Why now? George is leaving for a boarding school next year and Charlotte is not far behind. I would have understood the need of a bigger house when the kids were younger to give them freedom to run around in the grounds but now. Why do they need a bigger house now when the kids are about to leave? But why do they need all the castles and manors anyway?
I find your and Becks take on Windsor Castle interesting, might be that Charles health is better than thought.
I stand by my suspicion he never had cancer, but if he did it was prostate and was cured. Great sympathy card for the skin color of his grandson accusation. He seems sprightly to me.
I was also wondering how a family of five suddenly outgrew a four bedroom home that wasn’t too small for them when they moved into it, especially since they haven’t had another child and one of them will be heading out to Eton soon?
I thought W and K separated when she and the kids moved into Ade Cott in 2022. When do us people believe they separated? Lockdown 1 & ” finished off 2 couples within my extended circle. Was it during lockdown?
The move from doing zooms at Anmer to Sandringham hinted that William moved out.
this is my theory re: the timing. William moved out at some point during COVID. I wouldnt be surprised if they had lived relatively separate lives prior to that anyway, but i think the change in zoom settings was bc he was no longer at Anmer. I think that was around early spring 2021- for some reason I place it around the oprah interview but that could be wrong. But generally speaking that makes sense because summer 2021 was when we started hearing about them wanting a new house. I think they wanted out of london bc that would be too easy to track his comings and goings and I think Kate wanted to be closer to her mother as part of the separation agreement. It took a year and then they ended up at AC, and I dont think anyone in their right mind thinks William is staying there, especially knowing what Harry’s house looks like.
I’ve always believed that the Adelaide Cottage compound is Kate’s separation home. It especially annoys me when the uk tabloids persist in their claim that Adelaide Cottage is a modest 4 bedroomed home. It isn’t marked on google earth maps but it is easy to find. The very large portico of the original Adelaide Cottage is a clear identifying feature.
Here’s how to find the Adelaide Cottage compound:
On Google Earth find Windsor Castle.
Scroll to the right towards Datchet.
At the end of the Castle’s oval shaped lawn another oval shaped grass area leads downwards. At the bottom of this oval the Adelaide Cottage compound can be seen partly obscured by trees.
A 3D scroll around the compound shows the original Adelaide Cottage with its high pitched grey roof and portico has been extended at the side and the rear to join it to what was Adelaide Lodge, another large house with a high pitched grey roof.
The resulting building is known as Adelaide Cottage but it is more than double the size of the original.
The ‘Frankenphoto’ published for last year’s Mother’s Day appears to have been staged by the rear extension connecting the two original houses.
@anotherlily thats weird, it shows up on my google maps!
@BECKS1
My search for Adelaide Cottage has always led to a small terraced house outside the royal grounds. The google map also doesnt identify Frogmore Cottage .
okay so i just checked – if I specifically look for “adelaide cottage” it takes me to a cute little house in Windsor off of Adelaide Square. But if I just look at the map of Windsor Castle it shows me both Adelaide Cottage and frogmore cottage on the castle grounds.
It’s far from a “cottage” in the way most of us think of one. It is rather a large house. it looks nice too, painted pink.
I believe I was able to find it. The coordinates are 51°28’44”N 0°35’24”W
This article almost seems like a plant by the Lazies to amp up pressure on Charles and the Westons. It’s not a done deal yet, so the Lazies are pushing harder. I mean, the Lazies know Belvedere would be unpopular with some of the public, but they’re letting the press talk about this but not about Kate’s dresser stalking Meghan or the megayacht last week?
Also, isn’t Willy always briefing that Charles is going to die really, really soon? So why Belvedere now?
Anyway, if Kate moves in, Carole’s moving in with her and never moving out.
I think this is all Carole’s doing especially by using Charlotte’s tennis court excuse.
How much is the lease annually? Because Willy will need to pay off the widow Weston handsomely for this folly.
The Westons are a powerful family with business interests across several areas. Carole is a bankrupt who needs her son in law’s clout to do anything. There is no way the Westons give up their lease without a significant payout.
William doesn’t have the cash for it. His wealth is in land and he’s cheap as hell too. These leases were created to bring in money to the family coffers not lose money.
There is something behind this story and it is more than just needing a better tennis court.
Diddums can’t possibly live in a home without a tennis court. This family can go take a flying leap.
Didn’t the British press tell us that they had no intention of moving from Adelaide so what’s changed? I think this also means that it’s most likely that George is going to Eton next year.
They also said that KP was their forever home once they started to do full time royal work. Some of the experts, including Jobson made sure to point out the Wails hypocrisy when the move to Adelaide Cottage was made.
Every time “Fort Belvedere” has come up in relation to these two lazy gits workshy William and even more workshy Kate, I don’t anymore think “they want somewhere *really* private so no-one knows they are living apart” (even though that’s likely also true) but rather, that William is on a mission to snap up ANY property he thinks or has heard may be appealing to his younger brother.
I know that the family which currently leases the property is supposed to be close to Charles, but they are Canadians, and may also be connected to people who know M. Someone seems to believe that there is a possibility that H+M may end up at Fort Belvedere and are attempting to scupper it. Unless this is BP opening up the Wailses to criticism about their numerous homes as payback for one of their slights.
It would be a hoot to see Sandringham and/or Balmoral go to the Parker-Bowles kids!
Edit: this is a response to @Libra and @blogger above!
I don’t think it is just California that the wales are watching. Kate’s sister lives in a 15 bedroom mansion for which she tries to get planning permission for an Olympic sized pool and diving. Keeping up with the Jones’ may also be even closer to home.
I think this is spot on. He is the future king and given his status his home is ridiculously small. Most likely smaller than the homes of all his rich and or aristocratic peers (and that’s who he compares himself to, not to us). Smaller than that of his upper middle class sister-in-law. Smaller than those of his uncles. Yes he also has Anmer and KP, but at his age and in his position Charles already had Clarence House, Highgrove and I don’t know what. I am firmly against even the idea of monarchy or aristocracy. But if as a nation you buy into this by majority, then yes it should not shock you that the future king lives in a castle or a very big mansion and wants a swimming pool and tennis court. But yes the whole class system in Britain disgusts me, even as a distant observer. But stories about the Duke of Westminster and his inherited and not earned 9.5bn (gathered over centuries through exploitation of the poor) make me even more angry than the stories about the RF, at least they do some sort of work for their privilege . And they pay with a total loss of privacy.
William isn’t King yet. When he is King he can choose to live at WC.
Elizabeth the Queen Mother was living in Clarence House when Charles was William’s age.
Yep! I bet it irks Kate that Pippa has such an amazing house, and Kate is stuck in Adelaide with the dolphins in her bedroom.
F those peasants, we need another house pronto .the 60 we currently have and the 600 more we are going to inherit simply won’t do .
Willy has all the Duchy money now. He can buy his own f*cking house or build it … there’s no way taxpayers should have to foot the bill for any move or renovation.
If this is true, I can see Katie Spendalot refurbishing the entire place to meet her high standards on the tax-payers’ dime.
Oh of course. A “comprehensive review” will “find” “structural” and “wiring” issues that require all sorts of walls knocked down etc to magically create the open floor plan mega kitchen the Keens prefer, etc
I remember when Ft Belvedere came up the first time around, the Queen didn’t want to kick out the lessee since they’d already kicked out the people who were renting Anmer before Will and Kate took it over.
They then were gunning for Windsor castle, and that didn’t work out, so they tried to kick Andrew out of royal lodge. So now I guess they think enough time has passed so that they can justify kicking the people out of Ft Belvedere now since they’ve done their low brow stint at Adelaide?
Why can’t William just buy a house in Berkshire? There’s a lot on the market right now that could suit them.
He wants something that would be free to him in Windsor as a family member (except decorating/ renos/ pools/ tennis courts etc.) while also including built-in security. Nothing else would do because Willnot is as cheap AF!
Doesn’t surprise me they are going after this place – they wanted Royal Lodge and was told no. They are collecting royal properties like they are going out of fashion. Just confirms TQ
forced into Adelaide Cottage, we already know they are not getting to stay in the big castle just yet.
Also this is Kate outdoing Pippa – who has a walled garden etc.. in her Berkshire property. Can’t have her younger untitled sister have better digs than the Princess of Wails. Also Adelaide is gonna be turned into a ‘Granny’ flat for Wannbe Dowager Duchess Carol(e). Ma needs her own place on the estate – she’s the power behind the Wails dontcha know.
I hope Chuck grows a pair and tells them if they want it they have to give up Adelaide AND Amner.
ANMER was a wedding gift to W&K. It would be unwieldy for Charles to revoke that.
Ummm, kind of like how Frogmore Cottage was a “gift” from the Queen to the Sussexes?
You know what this never ending saga of William’s Monopoly game never fails to remind me of? Mimetic desire. Name of a band yet to be formed. Season 2, The White Lotus. When the once-Beta male calls the would-be Alpha out. That video of Diana taunting William to great effect really did unlock his whole personality, didn’t it? No one else is allowed to have something that William decides to want. Trouble is, William doesn’t know what he wants until he sees what someone else has. Meghan and Harry moved to their gorgeous house in Cali in, what, summer/fall 2020? We were still in quarantine, I was actually deleting old screenshots on my phone last week and came across my vaccine booking, IIRC, the first jab was April 2021? Then July 2021, then Jan 2022? So when they came out of isolation and Zoom school, say, start of the school year in Sep 2021, 18 months after the ordeal started, that’s when they moved to Windsor. 6 months after the Oprah interview. I’m guessing Kate just could not face the music. The music being, everyone knew she lied. And milked the lie. For years. Three years, to be precise. She balked. It’s like a horse at a fence, to use one of their metaphors. I remember the first time I had to get my horse to jump, it was not over a fence (I was on my way to the ring but running late) but over a wee little stream. And I did not want to go back to the stable. Hence: jump. Really, it’s nothing. A horse that will not jump is not a lighthearted metaphor. It indicates something is seriously wrong. I don’t know if people cotton onto the significance of their repertory of stock phrases, deliberately couched in anachronistic jargon. Kate has been balking at the fence for *years*. The Windsor house was just the latest wheeze, blag, dodge, bob, weave, what have you. William went along with it. Why? He likes his image as a family guy. But Kate committed the cardinal sin, in his book: she embarrassed him. She cost him the moral high ground. So he’s been seething with resentment ever since. That’s my two cents.
Interesting analysis.
My theory, which also matches the timing Becks has, is that William moved out after the Oprah interview. And I believe that he was embarrassed that her crying lie was finally exposed to the public.
That interview also exposed the unnamed family members who were overly concerned about skin colour. We eventually learned that Kate was one of those family members they were referring to.
William always had one foot out the door prior to this, but his animosity toward her in public only became more obvious in 2021 and later.
They did not move to Windsor until August 2022. The stories about them WANTING an estate in Berkshire/Windsor started in the summer of 2021.
‘W&K even threatened to buy or rent a mansion in Berkshire for their purposes.’. As if. As if William would spend any of his own money.
I was going to ask the same lol. Besides taxpayers money where is he going to get his money .
Assuming there’s any truth to this and it’s not just Carole and Kate’s pipe dream….
Charles must be healthier than we think. If Charles is really nearing the end, then the lazies could just wait for the inevitable and then move into Windsor Castle like they supposedly already want to do. Separately, whether Charles lives 1 or 10 years, it makes no sense to spend millions and a year or more fixing up Ft. Belvedere, which is just down the road from Windsor Castle, which Bulliam would eventually inherit anyway.
But the lazies want another impressive country estate, and they want it now. Or maybe Kate needs her own place as they live separately, and a fairy-tale neo-Gothic pile with tennis court and pool is just the ticket.
They should be told to go to kp or the mansion the queen gave them or stay put. Talk about greedy.
Also perhaps Kate can gut the kitchen here more easily than in the castle. I am wondering if she can’t do what she wants to Windsor so is “settling” for the smaller mini castle.
De-lurking to point out an article by the late, great Joni Webb about Fort Belvedere (she did DEEP dives into royal residences, both history and decor — her post on Royal Lodge is classic). Based on her post it doesn’t seem likely that the Weston family is going anywhere soon. Plus the house doesn’t seem at all family-friendly. 31 cannons with a staff bombadier?
https://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/search?q=Fort+Belvedere+
A staff bombardier?!!!!! Wowzers, now that is class!! 😉. Where do I get me one of those??
My kids would have LOVED living in a house with cannons.
@Former Lurker Thank you so much for the link. I too love John Stephanidas. The Westons have exquisite taste and gorgeous antiques. I shudder to think what the decor and renovations would look like if Kate and her mother got their hands on the Fort.I hope the Weston family stand firm!!!
Galen Weston was British and Hilary Irish. They both became naturalized Canadian citizens, so they both had strong UK ties. Hilary served a term as Lt. Gov of Ontario. Is William trying to break the lease owned by a very wealthy and well-connected family? Why this unseemly effort to collect real-estate which will be inherited soon. Why wouldn’t they wait until they can do whatever they want and ride roughshod over everyone under their own steam? They are acting like spoiled brats with no concern for anyone except their own wishes. Just as a matter of curiosity, I wonder what has happened to the huge Kensington flat once occupied by the Gloucesters, next to William and Kate’s forever home. Wouldn’t it make perfect his and hers homes for the Wales pair?
I was seeing some posts on SM – on how can they possibly be unhappy with all these homes- Aren’t they living there for free. Another suggestion from SM posts, they always talk about HMs home in CA. But it’s Something that the BRF can’t touch. As HM owns their home themselves(and it’s prob already paid off). Not to mention a huge home with some acres of land in sunny California. WK has prob wanting something bigger since then.
An interesting “architectural” history of Belvedere and its inhabitants. The transition from the son of an Emir from Dubai to the Westons is unclear.
https://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2022/02/fort-belvedere-duke-duchess-of.html
Belvedere is big enough for WandK to live their separate lives while “keeping up appearances”
They are already setting it up for Kate to remove from public life. “Cancer made her revaluate what’s important & she wants to focus on her kids only” Willy is being complicit (somewhat) to get an amicable split. She is fighting for a grander separation home. If she had real leverage she would have had all her and ma’s demands met last year.
I don’t believe that they were ever living at Adelaide Cottage!
So many people on the Windsor Estate must know the truth about where the two of them are living, can only mean the Press have had a Downing Street directive not to report it.
Belvedere would fit their established MO of adopting a notorious and/or cursed back story to bask in what KM and Carol, wrongly, perceive to be reflected glory – a la Diana’s engagement ring; Princess Margaret’s old apartment at KP the largest & grandest; and now potentially Belvedere.
Oh dear.
They are already setting it up for Kate to remove from public life. “Cancer made her revaluate what’s important & she wants to focus on her kids only” Willy is being complicit (somewhat) to get an amicable split. She is fighting for a grander separation home. If she had real leverage she would have had all her and ma’s demands met last year.