When the Prince and Princess of Wales’s move to Forest Lodge was announced, Kensington Palace couched the news with a briefing about how Forest Lodge would be their “forever home,” and it’s where they would live even when William becomes king. That, even more than the Forest Lodge news, is what has caused so much of the drama we’ve witnessed in the past two weeks. The royalist media is astounded by the very idea that “King William” will not live in or work from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or any of the other royal properties. Well, they dusted off Hugo Vickers to talk about this and he brought up a somewhat hilarious point, which is that William is out of his mind if he thinks prime ministers are going to traipse over to Forest Lodge for their weekly audience with the king.
Prince William and Kate Middleton won’t be able to live full-time in their lavish new Windsor home when they become king and queen, Page Six is told. Aides last week briefed that Forest Lodge, valued at $21 million, will be the couple’s “forever home” — however, that’s not quite the case. Although the sprawling property, which lies within the secure grounds of Windsor Castle, will give the Prince and Princess of Wales much more space — eight bedrooms compared to their current home’s four — they will still have to spend plenty of time at Buckingham Palace once William ascends the throne.
“They will have to have a London base,” Hugo Vickers, writer and friend of the royal family, told Page Six. “Remember, when [Queen Elizabeth] was at Windsor when [then Prime Minister] Theresa May was stepping down in July 2019, she had to go back and forth to accept May’s resignation and then greet the new PM, Boris Johnson. The king has to be somewhere convenient to the center of government. They can’t expect ministers to come to Windsor. I am sure William and Catherine will have to use Buckingham Palace as their London base and also for ceremonial duties.”
“They can’t expect ministers to come to Windsor.” They can and they DO expect it, I promise. Vickers doesn’t have any insider information here, he’s just applying logic to a situation which makes no sense. He can’t even spell it out like Robert Hardman did, which is that the prime minister when King Charles dies is the one who will have to “order” William to live in Buckingham Palace, or at least Clarence House. Somewhere in London, where William can conduct the business of state. The thing is, I’m absolutely sure that William’s plan is to just… work from home as much as possible. Instead of a weekly audience with the prime minister, he’ll send a tweet to Downing Street.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, London, UK, 08 May2025.,Image: 996583842, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JULIAN SIMMONDS/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Picture date: Thursday May 8, 2025. NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS,Image: 996583915, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon
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- British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Prince William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales attend a concert to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day at Horse Guards Parade, London, UK, 08 May 2025.,Image: 996697000, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales attend a concert to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day at Horse Guards Parade, London, UK, 08 May 2025.,Image: 996698230, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ian Vogler/Avalon
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- Prince William – The Prince of Wales attends The Order of Bath Service at Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK on Friday 16 May, 2025.,Image: 999848854, 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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- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, attends the ‘Investing for Impact’ event at The Guildhall in London on June 26, 2025. Hosted by The Earthshot Prize, ‘Investing for Impact’ spotlights success stories from the Prize and the broader environmental community provides an opportunity for potential investors to connect with environmental solutions.,Image: 1015150607, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: JUSTIN TALLIS/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: 1019688083, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter/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: 1019688204, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
And who will helicopter the red boxes over to Forest Lodge every morning? Isn’t that a security risk, couldn’t someone just shoot down one of the helicopters? Or will William just not bother with them?
Yup, choppers aren’t the most stable forms of transport at the best of times. His love for his Uber chopper is going to cause issues.
Well he won’t have to traipse to Forest Lodge because Peg lives at KP. Good luck making mister entitled to do anything he doesn’t want. He doesn’t read briefs before events and I don’t honestly think he will read anything in the red boxes.
What exactly are the royals supposed to do about the contents of the red boxes?
They don’t have any governmental power. They aren’t supposed to be political.
And they haven’t been educated enough in the past 80+ years to be able to critically think through and form their own opinions on matters of state. Their opinions are guided by the people around them who feed them biased views in order to further their own goals.
I do not think William is going to receiving real red boxes. More like very watered down mostly super duper boring so he won’t remember bits of random trivia.
Wiliam is super compromised – remember the Russian mistress in addition to the hereditary cash for “honors/ access” grift and his close relations with Saudi billionaires – wasn’t he on one of their yachts for a month? Plus his wife’s family lost everything which makes them technically a liability – they wouldn’t have been if he had taken care of them. That’s the whole dang thing. Any member of the royal family could be a massive liability to the “institution” if they aren’t properly taken care of- in the very real sense that they don’t have to beg for scraps and hoard secrets in case the “generosity” of ends. So the fact that it’s standard operating procedure to string members of the family along without any real sense or promise of financial security is mind blowing.
Anyway.
Let’s not forget the Chinese spy his uncle was introducing around, or Epstein etc. The whole family is full of holes. The Queen and Charles got that this information is intensely private and serious. William will be telling Jason extensive details of what he’s been “burdened” with.
Ummm, they have offices at KP. He can just helicopter into London for his meetings if they won’t traipse to Windsor. Maybe he’ll use some of BP as office space when he’s king. Probably pay some money to renovate those rooms to his liking or whatever. Logistically, with the way William uses helicopters as taxis, he can kind of do whatever he wants. He likes to play aristo but he also likes to play a billionaire who will do what he wants as he wants.
Is Windsor really that far from London? Can’t he drive there?
It’s about 30 miles.
It’s not that far at all (I mean Heathrow is basically in Windsor) but with London traffic it would be a PITA to have to make that trip regularly without a helicopter. I know a lot of people do commute into the city (or I assume they do) but i’m also assuming a lot of them take the trains. i don’t think William or a PM is going to do that.
This is a subtle pushback from the Establishment via the media and William will be very aware of that fact.
He can arrange to spend one night a week in BP, KP for the weekly PM chat. William will get away with not moving into BP, it’s his unwillingness and general laziness that will hinder his ability to perform the duties of Head of State which will be his downfall.
Or truck the red box in and do the meeting over some secure Zoom setup, like most of the rest of the world does business these days.
“ he’ll send a tweet to Downing Street.”
😂
Well done Prime Minister! I have read your boxes, all good by me. Just letting you know, don’t contact me in January, March, April, May, June, July, AUGUST, October, December. On holidays. Ta-ta for now.
I can see peg thinking he can do whatever he wants, even make a prime minister travel to him or zoom the meetings if he bothers to even have them at all.
‘I am KING, ergo, EVERYONE MUST BOW TO ME’. Yep, that’s his thought.
They probably tried to explain to him ‘constitutional monarchy’ but he was too busy having a tantrum to listen.
Her Late Maj took audiences with PMs at Windsor Castle during the early part of the pandemic, didn’t she?
Tabloids are running to extremes again.
The twee cottagecore playland of Forest Lodge is not that big a deal! Nothing could be simpler, in fact.
Willileaks can just hop on his horse/scooter/into Jason Knauf’s knapsack and pootle over to the Castle from his “wee bungalow mansion”.
The issue at hand isn’t where the audience is held. The subtext here is “Will Willy do his duty to the Crown when he is King, or not?”
Because if past is prologue, he’s done naff all his entire career as both Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales. His charity foundation is a grift, his “impact focused endeavors” result in airy promises that amount to nothing, and his service record is abysmal across the board.
The only time Workshy Willy stirs himself from his self-satisfied torpor, is when he sniffs brother Harry’s work ethic on the wind, and his Windsor Jealousy Gene kicks into high gear.
And that’s what they’re really freaking out about on ‘Abandonment Issues Island’. 😉
Smack. Down.
By 2020, the Queen was so beloved that parliament would have done whatever it took to make sure she Didn’t Get Sick. Go to Windsor, dress themselves in a bubble, didn’t matter.
Willie will never have that level of adoration, especially from parliament.
And what would the point of weekly meetings with him be? TQ at least was conscientious and could give advice and had *some* wisdom to offer.
What wisdom does Willie have? I think his biggest concern during those meetings would be to make sure he never gets taxed and can get even more money from taxpayers. That’s it. He has no perspective on history or government or the military at all.
This press freakout about Forest Lodge has been fascinating to watch. I truly believe the real reason why William is moving to this new house is because Harry’s house is bigger than Adelaide Cottage.
I think there are probably a ton of reasons – the leading reason being that it’s much more grand so that helps pacify or sweeten the deal that Kate sold her soul for.
Honestly – I’m confused by the fact that they can’t get a larger “forever home”.
Andrew lives in Royal lodge. Fort Belvedere is MASSIVE- and if I was the renters of that fort with the two media pushes to get the place for the Wales’s while both my parents were actively dying – I wouldn’t ever give it up. But it’s leased by people who aren’t even British.
The crown has SO many massive estates and forts – maybe I’m bonkers but the Adelaide cottage thing seemed like a substitute for Nott Cot. Know thy place etc. And this place seems nice but the fact that it’s so isolated and “private” seems to point very much to very sinister things.
Lastly – they can’t move into a castle now. Kate likely never. But they can’t at the moment because the speculation regarding Charles health would be unhinged and rabid.
Course they could have moved to a million other turn key places but whatever.
Isn’t the meetings with PM for the king/queen? Like the monarch has the right to talk with the PM? Why would they meet if the king doesn’t want to? Obviously the Brits want King W to continue the traditions but what would he be distroying by being lazy? The only way to get W to work is by making plans to take away his funds IMO.
There is another way. Tell him a copy of the papers was sent to the next adult in line of succession, just in case he wouldn’t have time to look into them: “Do you want to add something, Your Royal Highness, or do you want us to ask the Duke of Sussex for comment…”
@suoutdoors, 😄😄😄 👍
If the POTUS can conduct a military raid to assassinate Bin Laden via secure channels in the situation room, I’m sure William can find a way to have a 30 minute weekly chat about evading income taxes with the prime minister via Zoom. Be so for real, Rota.
Should have nipped W’s entitlement in the bud a decade ago. They’ve lost control.
I personally think William wants to live at Windsor castle. But, yes, video telecons are going to be what he wants. He’ll couch it as “modernization”.
Kaiser I swear your he will send a tweet to Downing Street made me laugh so hard my side hurts.
It’s hilarious because we know that
Exactly what small r willy will do. Good luck to any of them who think they can get willy to put on his big boy pants and actually show up for anything he is supposed to do .
That picture of William being so happy and relaxed next to his friend speaks volumes, not a whisper but a shout.
I think Willy’s problem of facing responsibility is a many-clawed beast. He is lazy, of course, but I think he secretly knows that he is not up to par for the job. How in the world could he think otherwise? He’s never been prepared to DO anything, except for pleasure or malice. He also must fear being mocked for his ineptitude and awkwardness–or being compared to Good King Henry, who everyone knows is more suited and trained for the job. So Willy will HIDE the whole time he is king. Doing little to nothing is a strategy not to be judged or laughed at. Mr. Contemptuous has no good qualities of his own to show, so he is understandably terrified to be “found out” as an amateur and a fool. And no doubt he is Trumpish in that his first priority will always be himself and what he can get out of a situation. I don’t think he’s an agent of chaos like Drumpf is, which is probably Willy’s best quality.
They write this as if William will actually be living at Forest lodge. He’s at KP now and will remain there.
That’s my thoughts too. This is Kate’s new place, with plenty of room for a pony and Ma and Pa Middleton.