Two weekends ago, there was a curious story in the Mail about the Prince and Princess of Wales. Apparently, after three years in the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, the Wales family has decided that the cottage is much too small for their needs, and they need something bigger. William and Kate have gone back to their original plot to somehow install themselves in Fort Belvedere, which is what they wanted back in 2021-2022. The big reason why they didn’t get the Fort back then was because the property had long been leased by the billionaire Weston family. The patriarch of the Westons, Galen Weston, passed away in 2021, but the family still maintained their lease on the Fort. Except Galen’s widow Hilary Weston just passed away a few days ago. I wonder if the Weston heirs want to maintain the lease? In any case, King Charles is reportedly discouraging the move, so who knows if it will really happen. Still, royal commentators have some thoughts:
The Prince and Princess of Wales appear to have set up a relaxed home life with their children at their cosy Windsor cottage. But with their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – getting older and William in particular being handed more royal responsibilities, could a house move be on the cards? It has been suggested that in time, the Wales family might want to upsize from Adelaide Cottage to something a bit bigger – with the historic Fort Belvedere being one of the mooted properties.
According to royal expert Jennie Bond, if a move in the future is on the cards for the family it will all come down to one thing – what is best for their children.
The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror: “Well, the first thing that has to be said is that this is just a rumour. William and Catherine have been so set on giving their children a more ‘normal’ upbringing than royal youngsters before them that it’s hard to imagine them wanting to move to what is, in effect, a castle — albeit it a relatively small one. However, it may well be that they feel they are outgrowing Adelaide Cottage – four bedrooms for a family of five doesn’t leave much room for visiting relatives or friends, or for kids’ sleepovers.”
“Whatever they decide, William and Catherine will have their children’s happiness at heart. For them, preserving a relaxed, cosy family life – as close to some sort of normality as possible given their status – is a top priority.”
Jennie added: “Fort Belvedere — where Edward VIII signed his abdication papers — would certainly be a step up in terms of grandeur. With up to eight bedrooms, acres of garden, a lake, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a polo stud its appeal is obvious. Charlotte and Catherine love playing tennis, and the whole family would enjoy the outdoor pool. Although it’s still pretty Gothic looking, the Fort was elegantly renovated by its private tenants — the late Galen Weston, a Canadian billionaire, and his wife Hilary. They were great friends of the royal family. There are also about three cottages in the grounds, which could be useful for staff or protection officers.”
The more we hear about Fort Belvedere, the weirder it becomes that we’re supposed to believe that William and Kate have been based in Adelaide for the past three years. A relatively “small” four-bedroom is supposed to be fit for the future king and queen? Really? With no space for the kids to have friends over? I always said that it had the feel of Kate’s separation cottage, and the Windsors didn’t want Kate to have anything too big or too grand in case there was a divorce. So why the shift now? Two theories. One, this is simply an upgraded separation house for Kate, where she can just raise the kids and not do any work. Two, this is part of the larger deal worked out last year, a deal which included the Middletons coming in from the cold and a more impressive official residence for the Wales family.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: Carole Middleton, Alizee Thevenet, Lucy van Straubenzee BACKGRID USA 18 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Prince William BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Catherine Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince William BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Princess Charlotte BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Catherine Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Wimbledon, UNITED KINGDOM Prominent personalities filled the stands at Wimbledon’s men’s final, watching Jannik Sinner claim the title. Pictured: Catherine Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 JULY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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Other than gothic, description sounds lot like the Sussexes property.
I’m wondering if we’ll one day get insta vids of Kate cutting flowers in her new garden. Artfully arranged in a basket with a hat on her head.
I am wondering about her summer video. Did it come out and I missed it? Shouldn’t she release it at the beginning of summer so we have time to *absorb the messaging* and use it to appreciate and tackle our own summer, lol?
Right? It really should’ve been the beginning of summer so we could truly absorb the message of summer. So what now… they’re gonna release right before fall? How dare they encroach upon pumpkin spice season like that! How anticlimactic. I’m slightly surprised it wasn’t released on Meghan’s bday.
I don’t even know how to properly enjoy summer without one of her videos!!!!
alright I just checked and it seems she released her spring video on May 12. So maybe August 12? that’s three months later? then November 12 for fall and February 12 for winter?
that also conveniently times with her vacations so it will make her look busier.
It’s coming!
The only thing that was left out of the article was that the Wales kids surf too, their lives are as cosy and normal as the Sussexes 🤣🤣🤣
William never,lived at Adelaide imo. It’s hilarious when these writers say peg is taking more responsibilities
Seems he is Taking less
100% agree! But I think there’s a 3rd possibility: This has nothing to do with Kate and this is all William’s need for property since Royal Lodge may be off the table.
He will take as little as possible and tell his beloved press the complete opposite.
Carole, the Middletons and the Lazies are so greedy and grasping. The widow just died a couple of days ago? Not even buried in the ground when the stories came out that they wanted the Fort?
They really are the most useless family around – freebie yacht, freebie homes…they would put Marie Antoinette to shame. The rats keep glossing over the fact that they have a bottomless pit of avarice paid by the public.
This really is the end of the monarchy – filled by greedy, tone deaf people, devoted to a life of selfishness. They serve no one but themselves. Fort Belvedere will curse them.
Yeah, she passed away a few days ago, so she was still taking her last breaths when W and K started campaigning for the home. Like last time when she was widowed. I’m sure the Westons have several homes all over the world, but it’s still rude.
Reminds me of their title upgrades when QE2 died.
They really are grasping with no sense of self-awareness of how this looks outside their bubble. As Harry said, it’s a death cult.
I hope Hilary haunts Carole when she moves in.
It’s rude and macabre. But they were grinning like pearl-wearing fools with Charles and Camilla right after the queen passed so I guess it’s on brand for them as part of a death cult.
@Jais compare their behaviour to when QE2’s father died. There was no feasting, there was sorrow. The people mourned for her father, as they did for her. With that nice touch of a rainbow.
Chuck and Willy are facing the end of the line. And I doubt they’ll get the same public sentiment once they’re gone.
Apparently Weston died in Canada so its possible the house has been unoccupied for some time, but to pounce this quickly is so distasteful. Give her kids a chance to figure things out.
@Megan – Wikipedia says she died on August 2nd, 2025 in London (Ontario?). It also says she had been living in the city for several years. My guess is that Fort Belvedere has been empty for a while.
Correction – It seems Mrs. Weston died in London, UK, not Canada.
My first thought too–she’s not even underground or scattered or whatever, and her family have to deal with the Waleses publicly drooling over their home. So gross.
It’s actually disgusting. These people have no respect for the dead at all -except what they can get out of them.
It’s shockingly bad taste. This story cropped up a week ago and the whole time it was probably known that she was sick or about to pass. And now she passed days ago and it’s still oh yay we can have swimming pools and tennis courts and sleepovers now. These people are so gross.
I know there was discussion here about why the renewed push for a bigger house – and now we have at least part of that answer. Its because they knew she was dying. How gross.
This is just bad taste and such disregard to Hilary Weston and her family.
I am not surprised. This is true to form for Willi. Just after the coronation Willi and his team started briefing the BM about how different Willi’s reign will be. And it has not stopped. They know that Charles is treated for cancer and they still brief about Willi’s future reign as if Charles is on his deathbed. Willi and his team have such lack of self-awareness and disregard for other people and their circumstances. So I am no surprised
Our Cath was strutting about wearing Liz’s jewels before she was cold in the ground.She could not wait to get her fingers in the jewellery box.That woman has no shame.
The way she and Willy use their children as an excuse for avoiding royal duties.They so much want their children to have a normal cosy family life!.Their life will never be normal.
It’s just a SMALL castle y’all!!!!!!
I think they will get pushback for this but that won’t make a difference to them. the line about staff and RPOs is ridiculous – I’m sure there is lodging for RPOs on the Windsor estate as it is, and we all know the staff quarters are RIGHT NEXT TO ADELAIDE COTTAGE. Maybe this is all about the Middletons. I can see this move happening and then when William and Kate move to Windsor Castle, her parents just take up permanent residence in the fort.
But if there is a signed lease presumably with some sort of financial involvement, which i’m assuming also includes the Westons paying for all repairs and renovations – Charles may not be inclined to pass it on to the Waleses. Its going to require millions in renovations – even if the house is in good shape (which I’m assuming it is), you know Kate and her mother are going to demand extensive renovations. And that wont come from the duchy of cornwall.
I’m interested to see how the press plays this since they spent the past three years telling us how perfect AC was for them.
But now that George is going to boarding school they need a bigger house? For sleepovers?
🤣
Maybe they want it big enough so Egg can have sleepovers too?
How kind of you to think anyone wants to sleep with him. Believe me, the guy has to buy it.
Solving homelessness one castle at a time!
😂😂😂😂
MINE MINE MINE! HERS! THEIRS! But not Harry’s!
@Blogger: that reminded me of a Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck cartoon! They take a wrong turn at Albuquerque & end up in Aladdin’s cave, where Daffy immediately loses his mind–MINE, MINE, MINE!!! DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!!!–as the two emerge.
😅
Comment of the week! This in response to My3cents
I can see friends maybe wanting to stay on weekends with George even if they’re boarding during the week. And yeah, kids might to want to go to the castle nearby with a pool. Or that’s what they’re hoping. But I do think it will be very expensive to break the lease and maintain. Is it right next to Windsor Park or actually in it? Bc that would add to security costs. But it’s not like they don’t have the money.
They also don’t pay for their own security costs so that doesn’t matter to them. I think its part of Windsor Great Park but not on the estate, so not part of the Windsor security that’s already set up.
Sleepovers will be at Anmer – why stay in Windsor on the weekends? There’s novelty on a chopper ride to Norfolk. Staying over across the river from Eton is too close.
Or go to KP and let the kids have fun in the city for the weekend. I know its against their country aristo image – but teenage boys may prefer London to Anmer.
Its weird to me how they never mention KP anymore. Its basically a landing pad for them before Trooping or Wimbledon and that’s it.
I can only guess at a few reasons why they never mention KP any more. Bc it looks bad that they spent so much on renovated and even adding a driveway or something and then moved out within a few years of what they said was ti be their forever home. It’s musical houses to go from KP to AC and possibly now FB. And also bc it probably does get used. By William. I can only imagine that once these kids are older, they may bounce bw wknds at anmer, or London, or FB.
I think Kate very much wants to be the “fun mom” with the “fun house,” and at Adelaide, there’s nothing cool or different for guests to do apart from have a playdate at the Waleses’. The Fort would give them more space for movie rooms, swimming, and tennis, among who knows what else. I think their modest accommodations in the eyes of the kids’ friends (or even cousins!) is what is driving this.
I do think it’s in horrific taste to start pushing this narrative so close to the owner dying! How trashy, but I guess they don’t care because “hey it’s empty now and we need more space.” Gross
Galen Weston Jr has been running one of the largest and richest companies in Canada so he’s not going to give up that lease without a huge payout.
The lease lasts another 30 years and he probably wants to enjoy it with his own kids.
The articles about Charles not agreeing to this will matter because Charles won’t want to pay out this lease.
The real reasons WanK will never get to redecorate Fort Belvedere:
1. Charles is avaricious, and parsimonious in a way that bids fair to rival contemporary reports of Henry VII. He will *never* give up a lucrative lease, paid in a timely manner from long standing, wealthy, already vetted tenants to a pair of charisma challenged do-nothings who don’t contribute to The Firm, and who would not pay a ha’penny worth of rent.
2. Charles is a petty, small, vindictive, abusive jerkwalter, who will delight in refusing this property to the Waleses.
Doubtful Kate makes it to Windsor w Willy. Or else she’d already be there. This is an upgraded separation home for keen to plot when “the wagons circle around her” isn’t that what uncle Gary said?
This is one of those cases where I feel like it’s more about William than Kate. While I think she also is upset this is what they were given, when moving from KP because they were ” overlooked”. I think it’s getting harder to maintain the narrative that he lives in Adelaide the older the kids get.
The oldest two are definitely at the age of friends hanging out after school, during school breaks, and having sleepovers. And kids are not discreet at all. At some point someone’s going to question it out loud, how come your dad’s never at your house? Too many people whispering the same thing allows open secrets, to become a little too open.
Also, I think it’s his ego ( Kate’s too though), and thinking that is not nice enough. I don’t think he actually lives there, but the going story is that he does. And I don’t think he thinks it’s a nice enough place for the heir to live. Especially as he continues his one sided feud/competition.
This doesn’t strike me as Willy. He’s been happy to stay at KP with the helipad. With do many properties at his disposal, he doesn’t strike me as a wanna be real estate magnate. He’s never shown any desire for properties the way his father does.
This is the Middletons. Tennis court for Charlotte? Really? That family loves their tennis – Pippa invited Roger Federer to her wedding for a game of ping pong, the Middletons love the Royal Box at Wimbledon…
At least it’s easy to see the Middletons will succeed the Rottweiler in the grifting.
the emphasis on the tennis court and swimming pool is just…….well, it blows the whole “we’re so normal” thing out of the water. They have a tennis court and swimming pool at Anmer where they go for every extended break and even most weekends (when they’re not vacation elsewhere.) So is the issue that charlotte needs a tennis court every single day of the week? there are no other tennis courts she can use on the Windsor estate? They can’t call the Westons and say “hey can the princess practice on your court a few times a week?”
The interesting thing about this – much like the story about George yesterday – is that they are still putting so much emphasis on how Charlotte needs the tennis court. So its not W&K’s fault they want to move, CHARLOTTE needs a better house with a tennis court! all the kids need a swimming pool!
The Waleses are openly using their kids to try to get a better house and its gross. Good luck kids. This is just the beginning of your parents throwing you under the bus.
William may not be a real estate magnate, but what he is is competitive. Especially against one particular person. And while he may actually live at Kensington palace, the storyline which he supports is that he lives with his family at Adelaide. And he doesn’t want to shake that because he’s a good family man, unlike his brother who hates his wife ( it’s totally not projection!), and his philanderer of a dad. And in his competitive nature I don’t think that he sees this as a nice enough place for him to live at. Especially not when his brother is living on a sprawling estate 10 minutes from the ocean.
Now I do think that everything that you said about the Middleton’s is true, but I think they always felt that way. I think this new push is about him. The first go round of asking for this place was right after the Sussexes moved to Montecito. He’s had time to Stew about where they live and how nice their house is.
@Dee2 he has Anmer. If he wants a sprawling ocean front waterfront estate, FB ain’t it. He wants to compete against his bro, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight is the way to go. Not FB with a tenancy in place. I don’t see him attached to places as much as Lazy does with her family and their residential upgrades.
And he’s not going to isolate himself. KP works for him as he jaunts between KP and Norfolk. Also the RAF base near Anmer is the perfect place for uber plane rides for him to travel…to say Tuscany for a Montecito style freebie villa.
I think pegs likes the idea of acquiring things like freebie yacht vacations. Helicopters. Large homes and retreats. And money he inherits.
@becks Charlotte’s whim for FB’s tennis court isn’t hitting the way they think it is in justifying their greed. If the audience for this latest round of “WE WANT THIS PROPERTY” is Charles, he’s already dismissed it. Who are they exactly trying to convince? The paying public financing their lifestyle?
It’s so OTT and bizarre. Why not Windsor Castle for the curtains? Or Versailles for the mirrors? Just a quick word with the FCO and Macron should do the trick!
Willy really has chosen a right royal ‘un in social climbing, grasping Carole. Not that anymore properties is going to make them happy – except Carole – they all look miserable. And there’ll be growing public resentment over their increasing tonedeafness. Especially when it comes to breaking the lease fee and Lazy’s cosplay of Mary Berry by installing 100 kitchens.
I don’t think it’s hitting the way they think it is. We’ve gone from George must have his Mickey D’s on a yacht to Charlotte must have her own tennis courts. Like keep the kid’s names out of it.
oh that’s a good point about the sleepover line. That was confusing to me…during a sleepover the kids sleep in the same room (at least in my experience) or in the TV room or basement or something. Its not like you provide an extra bedroom for each kid sleeping over. But it would be a concern if more and more kids are spending the night, or spending the night more frequently, and putting together that William isn’t there.
And I don’t think he is – I think that’s why there is always such emphasis on the four bedrooms (here she mentions “four bedrooms for a family of five”) – because even if William was in the house, he wouldn’t be sleeping with Kate.
Maybe that’s why they go to Anmer so much, so they can both be with the kids but separate.
Didn’t Kate say that AC was so small her kids would be embarrassed when they brought their posh school friends home? Maybe she didn’t want to voice a different kind of embarrassment, the sleepover situation with Willy never there.
I hadn’t even thought about like that but @Dee’s point makes sense if they want visiting kids to not question why someone is never there. And yes @meathome but I do think it was also bc they don’t want the kids to be embarrassed by their small house. Although at some point is one of those kids not going to end up in Nott Cott, lol.
Weird that kate and the kids would be embarrassed by their “small house” when we just heard that “real royals” don’t complain about housing and dont need palaces etc.
So weird! Does that mean the Wales aren’t real royals?
@Dee This would explain Workshy’s thirst for Royal Lodge.
A divorced couple currently lives there. In separate wings. In Royal Lodge they could keep the pretense of living together as a married couple while having the freedom to not have to interact, except when co-parenting.
As close to some normality as possible. Like taking a freebie vacation on a large yacht and five lavish vacations. Such greed.
The news that the current tenant just died makes this seem ghoulish which is totally on brand for WanK.
I would take any bet going that William does not and has never lived at Adelaide Cottage, this was all about putting Kate in her place as a separation house. Look at the places Charles lived in a PoW and all their other properties, the story never made sense as a family home. This to me speaks strongly to the negotiations that happened last year along with whatever her health situation was.
I also read it as suggesting Charles isn’t likely to pop off any time soon otherwise they’d have their pick of anywhere.
The lease will have transferred to the adult children of the Weston’s. They aren’t going to walk away from this lease unless there is a large payout. The media seems to forget this fact.
I assume Adelaide Cottage is smaller than the Middletons’ Bucklebury property? They make AC sound like a hovel 🤣
Kate looks a little Weekend at Bernie’s in that top photo! 🤣🤣🤣
The photoshopping is off the charts.
The King always has the option of saying ‘no’.’
He’s said no already through his minions but the Lazies minions are disagreeing. These people are so abnormal. Having a bigger house won’t make you happy Lazy. And it’s not close to nature, so you’d better return to Anmer.
They don’t have to live at Adelaide. They have a place at KP and they have Anmer.
Keen tries to make Wimbledon all about her,posing and preening for cameras . The duke and duchess of Kent never went in for that sort of thing.
And that photo is photoshopped to the max. She looks skeletal in the original version.
I think the current book about the Yorks really shows up how the greed and avarice works in the family.
The Middletons must have realised pretty early on that you can get everything for free on the royal ticket.
And people are easily bought for ‘honours’.
Someone has to pay to break that lease and Charles is saying no. No, Charles is not going to put his hand in his own pocket. Charles doesn’t even want to pay for fixing up a suite at Windsor Castle for them (which is sort of hilarious). Nor, apparently, is Charles going to support another massively unpopular renovation from the public purse for the Waleses, who already got a £4.5m renovation of KP that they never (publicly, agree Willy may helicopter there at night) use.
So any move to Ft. Belvedere is going to come down to whether Willy is willing to pay for it. The costs would include buying out the remaining, what, 40 years (?) on the Westons’ lease and reimbursing them for any improvements that didn’t fall into the buckets of maintenance or cosmetic changes. Then there are all the cosmetic changes Kate and Carole would definitely want (thinking lots of chintz and tasselled draperies).
My guess is that Willy is saying no to paying for it, too, because he doesn’t care where Kate ends up after their kids are all in boarding school, and this constant briefing is coming from Kate and Carole. I’ve always wondered how the Middletons pay for Middleton Manor, they’re both in their 70s, and an in-law suite at Ft. Belvedere or Windsor would be really sweet. But yes, it’s possible Willy realizes he needs to live under the same roof as Kate, and the optics at Ft. Belvedere are better, so he’ll go for it.
Will does not have to live under the same roof as keen
Yes, it’s hard to imagine William paying for this really but maybe.
Willy has duchy money so I suspect he’s paying their expenses now. I mean what’s 1M a year to keep your in laws on side?
Fort B is in exchange for George going to Eton and possibly William living under same roof with them.
I’m of the theory that Can’t is trying to renegotiate the deal. She wants something bigger than Adelaide so that Ma and Pa can stay with her when she wants them there. I always believed that she in the last two years has some leverage that she didn’t have before and is using it now to get what she wants for the price of her and her parents silence.
I still think keen has no leverage. William wants to keep the happy families facade
In theory, she doesn’t have any leverage at all. That was proven when she was put in AC, an embarrassingly small home for a woman of her status. Now, I think she wants an upgrade after remaining silent and dutiful. Whatever happened throughout last year, Kate feels she deserves an award for it and Ma Midds is doing all the barking in the press.
I keep wondering if that scar on her head is her leverage.
I keep going back to the Middleton finances. How are they doing financially? Not out of any concern, mind you, but because how easy it would be to cover that you can’t afford your house any more by moving in with your Fewcha Kween daughter at one of her royal residences? “I must help my daughter with the kids/etc as she prepares for her keenest role yet!”
Also, my four person family had tons of sleep overs for me. Of course my dad was home every night so we didn’t have to worry about optics.
Same. Just two years ago, Carole couldn’t pay the £200k for unwinding her participation in Party Pieces. So how are the Middletons heating Middleton Manor and maintaining its roof, pool, and everything else? Also, Carole just turned 70 and Michael is in his mid-70s, so managing it will get harder even if they can afford more staff.
A lovely in-law suite in a magnificent castle would be just the ticket. The only slightly embarrassing part would be explaining why the Middletons are selling their manor. You can see the spin now: Kate and William are thrilled to be even closer to her parents, who have been so supportive to the whole family, and now, when all their kids are almost in boarding school, is definitely the time to move them in, for reasons!
Carole was never going to spend her own money on Party Pieces. After decades of pulling every cent they could out of it, and running it as a partnership, meaning that their taxes weren’t public record and they were taxed as individuals, but also that they were personally liable for debts, they restructured it when it was already failing in 2018 into the equivalent of an LLC or some other legal entity that rendered them not personally liable. They also took on a couple of investors. Those investors tried to expand or turn it around. The Middletons knew in 2018 they had to get out of being personally liable for its debts or bankruptcy. She doesn’t care. Businesses do this all the time and stick the rest of us with the bill.
As a Canadian I’m no fan of the Westons but the noise about William and Kate wanting Fort Belvedere started again last week as Hilary Weston was dying. I find that disgusting. It shouldn’t shock me that W&K are that arrogant and completely devoid of decency but it does.
They are vultures feasting on corpses. They swoop right in at the moment of death.
It’s devoid of everything that is expected of normal behaviour. But it’s classless, undignified and disrespectful.
Karma’s going to get the Lazies and Middletons badly. The schadenfreude over Carole’s failed business was an indicator of that already. The booing at Trooping is another. They are living on borrowed time.
Reports say Hilary died in England, meaning she lived at Fort Belvedere until the end and likely died there. I hope you’re right about their karma.
I don’t love the Weston’s either but these articles going out when clearly she was in poor health was very grotesque.
The Weston family isn’t some random family either. They will want a payout to relinquish the lease.
So Mrs Early Years never expected the kids growing up? My theory is AC was a separation home. Wills never left KP. But something happened after Keen’s illness or as a result of her illness so they are looking to try living as a family albeit with enough room not to be in each other’s faces all the time. Wills will still keep KP as a bachelor pad.
ETA: Since both AC and FB are not official royal homes, why is no one calling this an exit from palace for Keen? A Kexit?
They were waiting for Andrew’s place. So, that means they lost all hope to make Andrew get out. AC was always temporary.
In the Mirror article that Kaiser quoted here, the end of it is about how they wanted Royal Lodge and that is never ever happening.
And yet we were told the Sussexes were evicted from FC so that Andrew could move in.
Did the Westons approach the Royal Family about giving up the lease? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Mrs Weston passed away a week after it was reported that William and Kate were looking at Fort Belvedere as their new home.
Hmmm so you think the Weston family inheritors are now the ones that want the lease to be bought out. That could be true.
This is a plausible theory. The only thing I wonder about is the timing–was Mrs. Weston actually dead before or after these briefings started? I don’t know about the timing. I’m going to guess the Weston family isn’t as crass and gross as the Waleses, and wouldn’t contact BP or the tabloids about this while she was still hanging on.
Perhaps the late Queen can once again be trotted out as the final arbitrator on this one? As in Her Madge ‘s final wish was for this family to have breathing space in Fort Belvedere!! No one argues with Queenie ‘s death bed wishes, do they?
The late queen absolutely definitely told whatever her name is that the one thing she truly wanted was for the Wales family to have FB. And she wanted it gifted to them at no cost.
Y’all are too much! 😆 ‘It’s the one thing The Queen always wanted, for William & Kate to live in Fort Belvedere, former home to her beloved uncle, David, aka Edward VIII.’
You would think Fort Belvedere would be cursed due to its association with Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson.
It’s possible. I can sort of see it playing out like this:
One of the Weston heirs calls the Crown Estate or whoever and says “hey I know we have 40 years left on this lease, but we’re not interested in keeping it. What can we do about ending it early?”*
CE/BP says “if we can find a new tenant you can end the lease.”
W&K “ME ME ME!!!”
But William won’t pay for a lease and won’t pay for renovations. He is going to think it should be given to him, like Adelaide was, like Anmer was, like KP was – so this might be interesting.
*the reason I’m not entirely sure about this is that why have an extended lease like that if the heirs had no interest in the property? They have 40 years left and they knew the mother wasn’t living forty more years.
A 40 year lease indeed suggests otherwise. One of the Weston heirs wants to live in FB.* Better start thinking about paying them off Willy!
*Apart from aristocrat heirs-in-waiting, it baffles me why the Westons didn’t buy their own estate. I suppose proximity to the family and London are compelling reasons but if you are that rich enough, why lease when you can buy? Like take a leaf from the sheikhs and oligarchs. Owning makes you less subject to the whims of a lazy heir.
I’m pretty sure Galen Weston Jr was not checking in on the terms of the lease as his mother was dying.
They got this lease knowing it would cover a few generations.
Ephraim Hardcastle today poopoohs this as wide of the mark as Will can’t be seen to property grab when he is a Champion of Homelessness. But cheers them up with a list of glorious mansions to divvy up once Will is King.
I can see Will wanting a Royal Lodge type situation whereby the adults have separate wings and the kids shuttle between them. It is more discreet than way then Will living separately? They are both greedy and want bigger and better and also the Midds need accommodation to babysit Kate.
Oh dear. Willy is losing support from the Fail. They really must be pissed over the Greek yacht.
The security arguments are absurd because one of the arguments for them moving to Adelaide to begin with is that Adelaide and most of the homes on Windsor are within the “Windsor security corridor” aka, the gated sealed off part, so other than there individual RPOs, no additional security measures are needed. Notably, royal lodge is just outside the alleged corridor.
“four bedrooms for a family of five doesn’t leave much room for visiting relatives”. That’s the main reason why they (the Middleton and Kate) want a larger house. It’s pretty obvious that Kate cannot function without her mother (especially now after her whatever illness) and now it’s time to get whatever they wanted even 3 years before but couldn’t get for reasons…Adelaide cottage was always the temporary separation house for Kate and William stayed at Windsor whenever he visited his children…the Middleton are the ones who constantly use the press for promoting their wishes…and the moment they heard that the wenston widow was not all right, they grabbed the chance to fight for what they want…they would sell their manor and live in FB with Kate and the children. Don’t forget that they were in last year’s video for Kate’s remission and that was organised…they are the future king’s grand parents and they are there to get what they want. William is probably indifferent to all these schemes but he would certainly not agree to pay anything…he’s happy living in KP, as long away as he wants from Kate and her parents.
I can imagine it might even be easier for William to have Carole living with Kate. Maybe Carole is staying at FC, lol. But yeah, the idea that William would pay for FB is hard to imagine but who knows.
While Kate was pregnant with Charlotte, there was tons of reporting about how there were three people in the marriage – Carole, Kate, and William – and how Carole made everything run smoothly. And how it was a “party atmosphere” when she was present. And how she was able to direct the Anmer staff in a way Kate could not. And how William was enthralled by her organizational skills , etc. And how she always subtly backed William over Kate. I agree with you – William enjoys the deference, obsequiousness, and being waited on by Carole.
But you know what? People make do. Normal people. We were a family of five & when relatives came to visit–grandparents, or aunt & uncles with the cousins, we made do. Living room sofas & sleeping bags on the floor. ONE bathroom. OK, OK, none of us can see the Wales or Middletons doing that, but seriously, don’t couch it as though it’s simply not possible when your readers know darned well it is because they have done it themselves. Gah! These people!
Here is the part of the story that makes me laugh out loud: no way were the family in residence calling up tabloids to brief them about wanting to sell up & move out whilst the matriarch was quite literally at death’s door, and I find the whole scenario shocking and disgraceful. FFS. JFC. For anyone who thought Charles and Diana (and Camilla) were the end of the monarchy, have they got news for you. These people are *horrifying.* and throwing their children to the papers to provide the excuse — we need a tennis court, we need a swimming pool, for the kiddies — just goes to underline the point that none of this was coming from the current residents. And that WanK will seize on any pretext to gratify their lust for power, which translates into ever increasing funding, which translates into ever more breathless press coverage, in an endless loop. Harry looks more savvy and principles every day for saying, nope. And for being as discreet as he has been: “saw the business model, didn’t like the business model, didn’t want anything to do with the model.” Understatement of the decade.
We all already know this on here, but I think history is going to establish beyond a doubt for *everyone* that Harry removing his wife and children from that business model was the best thing in the world for all of them.
Kate and willy are two of the most selfish, greedy people on planet earth.
Seriously, I can’t understand why two part time working royals needs security full time and all these houses. They are not worth the paper they are written about on
I wonder if Cathy and Peggy will be sent to Toronto to represent HM at the funeral?
Ah the Wails robbing from the dead hands of others – they did it with QE2, have been doing it with Chuck (claiming he’s not got long left) and they are at it again. I think this is driven by Peggy to ensure that he has properties for his kids and that there are none for Harry (and his children). As for Wiglets, she wants ‘rooms’ for her family, esp Ma – its been well reported on for years that her family would decamped to Amner Hall for periods of time, esp around Christmas. Fort Belvedere would quickly be renamed Fort Middleton.
I hope Chuck shuts them down publicly.
The description of the monarchy as a death cult is certainly a good one. Getting things depends on someone dying. In the olden days, kings and princes used to hurry things along by killing incumbents or futures. It’s just ghoulish to be talking about FB just two days after the death of Hilary Weston. The Wales are starting to look like they have an obsession with collecting estates. It’s so avaricious, when Willie is going to inherit very soon. It’s not like they work hard to acquire the next bigger thing. They have no idea about working to acquire things like the rest of the world. There is just no end to their greed. Someone should apprise William and Kate of what would be their standard of living commensurate with their actual earning power according to their actual skills and work ethic.
Adelaide Cottage seen from above is HUGE. It may not be royal huge like Royal Lodge etc. but I live in an affluent part of New England. Adelaide Cottage rivals the size of the mansions where I live (I don’t live in one just to be clear, I’m in a small one bedroom apartment). Four bedrooms is a lot for the average person. I don’t see how this is an issue for them, each kid has their own room. Regardless of the state of William and Kate’s marriage, William can go hang out at Kensington Palace or Anmer Hall if Adelaide isn’t big enough for them to hide from each other.
Fort Belvedere is massive. What do the Wales need all that room for? Given Charles is not long for this world (a year or two if I’m being generous), they’ll have their pick of royal real estate once he goes. William will not have to wait as long as his dad did to become heir. I don’t understand the rush for a massive house when he’ll be able to float between all the royal residences once his dad is off the earthly plane.
Camilla probably leaked this BS. And it’s not like Bill and Bones would be living together; they’d have separate whole wings.
So there was a death in the Weston family back in ’21 & the Wales started pressing the family for their house? Now there’s been a second death in the family & the Wales are again pressing the family for their house? Danged vultures! So classy, so royal, so ‘just like us’. 🙄. And spare us all the ‘best for the children’ crapola. This is for Kate & William, this is for Carole & Mike Middleton.
Strikes me as so gloomy, imagine it on a winter’s night with thunder and lightening crashing all around……
Upon closer inspection, Kate appears to be photoshopped into this picture. Look closely.
So, if they move to this “small” palace, do they give up Anmer? Or is this in addition to? I guess they’ll have to keep it because where else would they stay at Christmas when the rest of the family is at Sandringham. I honestly don’t even understand how having multiple homes works. Do you just have multiples of your favorite pillow and sweater or do you have to pack everything. Where are all your clothes? What if you’re at one house and you realize you need a thing that’s at one of the other houses? The thought of dealing with that with my adhd makes me super anxious.
I doubt they will ever give up Anmer but certainly not before taking the throne. They have made sure to seed the media with all the tales of how they consider it their true family home and will spent more time there when they are older. I agree with you re multiple homes but darling, they have people (and helicopters for quick jaunts back) for that!
So many houses, so many rooms, and William still can’t put enough space between him and Kate.
Just hit me how much it must cost to maintain this place. I wonder who will pay for the upkeep if the billionaire family is kicked out? William probably expects Charles to pay. Charles would expect William to pay.
The tax-payer shouldn’t have to pay their expenses, though.
The finances of this firm are very complicated!
But – I do think it sounds fit for a future king. As long as they’ve got that system over there, I think the Wales should have it if they want it. After all, the firm isn’t adverse to breaking leases!