I’m enjoying the Fort Belvedere storyline this summer. Two weekends ago, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Prince William and Kate have a renewed interest in moving into Fort Belvedere, which is part of the Windsor Estate. Everyone acknowledges that the Weston family seemingly has a valid lease (even though Hilary Weston recently passed away), so if a move happens, it’s likely that the Westons will have to be persuaded to give up their lease. The way “royal sources” talk about the Fort, it feels less and less likely that the Wales family really was based out of the relatively small Adelaide Cottage this whole time. Anyway, we’ve been covering all of the Fort Drama this week, and it continues to be hilarious. Very few people acknowledge that William now has the money to simply… buy a country estate privately. It’s like William and Kate are stomping their feet and demanding a free home, even though they have the means to make plenty of other arrangements. Well, at least Hello’s Emily Nash is acknowledging that.
While HELLO!’s Royal Editor Emily Nash is sceptical about a Fort Belvedere move, as she writes in her The Royal Club newsletter this week, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if the future King and Queen were considering future property plans.
“I’m told they’ve been very happy there,” Emily writes of the family’s current four-bedroomed home, Adelaide Cottage. “Enjoying precious time together as a family of five, with no live-in staff and with easy access to Lambrook, the Berkshire school attended by Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.”
However, Emily adds that that doesn’t mean they will stay forever, and there are a number of options available to the Prince and Princess of Wales. One thing the royal duo may be considering is purchasing a property privately, rather than moving into another Crown Estate property such as Fort Belvedere.
“As Prince of Wales, William now controls the Duchy of Cornwall, which provided him with an income of £23 million in the year to April, more than enough to buy a place of his own, just as his father did with Highgrove in 1980,” writes Emily in her royal club dispatch. So he wouldn’t be the first royal to do this.
“There’s precedent”, Emily continues. “The late Queen made private home purchases for her children — gifting Princess Anne Gatcombe Park, where she still lives, and Prince Andrew Sunninghill Park, before he moved to Royal Lodge. Prince Edward was handed Bagshot Park, a former royal residence.”
So it could well be that William and Catherine are not only considering where they should live as a family of five, but perhaps, like the late Queen, thinking of their children’s futures. “They may even be thinking further ahead, laying the groundwork for a future home not only for themselves, but maybe one day for Charlotte, or Louis,” Emily adds.
“As future King, George will have more options. Of course, the same applies to William when he becomes King. He will have access to a number of major royal residences. But most of them are at least partly open to the public, with plans to open some of them up further. Some, such as Balmoral and Sandringham House may eventually become museums, rather than homes. So I can see why William and Catherine might instead gravitate more towards a private property they can fully make their own,” she concludes.
The thing about Adelaide is that the whole move was organized when QEII was still alive and Will and Kate were just the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It was seen as suitable enough for the heir’s heir and his wife’s sudden desire to be based in Windsor. It’s crazy that they’ve “stayed” in Adelaide for three years after becoming the Prince and Princess of Wales – there is no precedent for the future king to claim that he lives in a tiny four-bedroom cottage with no live-in staff. And true to form, Will and Kate are still behaving as kids who need permission for their schemes. They’ve had a bug up their ass about Fort Belvedere for years, because they’re jealous that other people (including Harry and Meghan) have such grander homes. Anyway, Nash’s solution is so obvious: if they want a grander home, they should buy one and that way they can pass it down to one of their kids eventually. It would never occur to Will and Kate to operate in that way though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit Meadow Street Community Garden and Woodland in Pontypridd, Wales, Britain, February 26, 2025.,Image: 969220561, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jaimi Joy/Avalon
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- Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit Meadow Street Community Garden and Woodland in Pontypridd, Wales, Britain, February 26, 2025.,Image: 969244335, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jaimi Joy/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, in London. Picture date: Monday March 10, 2025.,Image: 974325989, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- Westminster, London, UK. 10th March 2025. Her Royal Highness, Catherine, The Princess Royal of Wales, attends a service for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey.,Image: 974326325, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Supplied by AVALON – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Photo by Amanda Rose/Avalon
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- Horse Guards Parade, London, UK. 14th June, 2025. Trooping the Colour, King Charles III’s official Birthday Parade, takes place on Horse Guards Parade with Britain’s oldest Army Regiment, the Coldstream Guards, Trooping the Color (flag) of 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards this year. Over 1000 officers and men are on parade together with 200 horses and more than 200 military musicians. Image: King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales, on the Royal Dais,Image: 1010944551, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK/Avalon
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- A service for the Most Noble Order of the Garter is held in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Monday, 16th June 2025,Image: 1011411862, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Editorial use, commercial use may require additional licenses. We don’t use AI to make images which could be mistaken for news photos. AI use will be clearly indicated. Supplied on condition you ensure personal data is processed in compliance with DPA2018, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Tony Kershaw / SWNS/Avalon
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- Horse Guards Parade, London, UK. 14th June, 2025. Trooping the Colour, King Charles III’s official Birthday Parade, takes place on Horse Guards Parade with Britain’s oldest Army Regiment, the Coldstream Guards, Trooping the Color (flag) of 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards this year. Image: The Royal Family on the dais watch the ceremony taking place.,Image: 1011413626, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK/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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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS’s Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex. The visit coincides with the donation of 50 Catherine’s Rose plants, named after the princess by the RHS with funds from sales going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Picture date: Wednesday July 2, 2025.,Image: 1017655843, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Stefan Rousseau/Avalon
Peg will never spend his ill gotten gains on a palace for Can’t and the children. Mr. Entitled wants what he wants and he will throw fits to get it. My theory on this is that this is Can’t and Ma Midds making some demands for a larger place. I doubt Peg will live there and I doubt Peg lives at Adelaide either. I think that Can’t and Ma are trying to get this worked out before Peg becomes king . Just my theory.
Yeah. It makes more sense if you look at it from the perspective of Kate wanting a place. If her lookout is for Louis’ future, I would respect the thought.
Exactly. Spend his own money? Hardly. I also like how The Queen bought a place for Anne & Andrew, but not Edward (nor Charles, but she knew he’d be getting all that duchy money).
The staff lives in a separate residence nearby. No way did William ever live adelaide.
Not having live in staff is not a benefit as far as they are concerned and it’s been fun watching the press try and sell it as a benefit. William has been waited on his whole life and Kate was more than happy to become lady of the manor. They want the staff and all the trappings.
Those 60+ “household” staff of the Duchy have to go somewhere after all. At least at Belvedere there are three cottages adjoining so the Waleses can be waited on hand and foot…by those staff who last more than a year, at least…including William’s brilliant new valet and Kate’s new PA/stylist/peasant to boss around.
And ofc William doesn’t want to spend his own money. Those expensive divorce lawyers he keeps on retainer (FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON, NO THERE ARE NO MARRIAGE SLASH DIVORCE NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING, OMG MEGHAN’S ROSE IS CRAP! SOMETHING SOMETHING ANDREW! LOOK OVER THERE!) won’t come cheap, so he has to put aside some of his (checks notes) billion dollar fortune to pay for them. Fortunately as has been reported, the 60,000 pounds per year for George to attend Eton is comped, so there’s only the other two spares at Marlborough (45k/year each) to worry about. Goodness it does add up. There’s no way they can pay for their own fourth (fifth? sixth?) home, poor sausages.
After all that, there’s hardly anything left over for renovations at Belvedere, when you factor in Charlotte’s swimming pool, George’s TWO tennis courts and Louis’ polo ponies. Because they live like normal people! Totally relatable. Just like us!
I’ve said the same, He can create his own realestate portfolio now he is Prince of wales
Rich people don’t get rich and stay rich by spending their money when they don’t need to. These two are used to being gifted everything.
Gifted, grifted, it’s the same to them.
He doesn’t even spend his own money for family vacations. There is no way he is gonna buy some place with his own money and not charge taxpayers for renovations. That is how rich people operate.
We pose at Wimbledon, you pay for our mansions and expensive lifestyle. And the in-laws too! 😂
So she casually discusses QE buying places for Andrew and Anne to own outright. She skips over Charles buying a place for Cam and then buying the adjoining property to protect her privacy. What a pity that Charles couldn’t find it in his heart to buy Harry a place.
Charles,is a l o s t cause. Harry and Meghan and the children are better off away from the toxicity.
I did not see your comment when I wrote mine below. This was exactly what came into my mind. I forgot about Camilla. Charles is too stingy.
Chuck never loved his sons. They remind him too much of Diana.
So the late Queen gifted each of her other children, Anne, Andrew and Edward, an Estate.
But Charles is too stingy to provide a safe home in the UK for his only other child Harry and his family.
This really bodes well for Charles.
@Monika … In addition, Anne gave Zara and Mike Tindall a smaller house on her property when they got married, where they still live.
Peter and Autumn lived on her property as well. He probably still does and will with Harriet too. Free security.
Anne gave Zara Ashton Farm which is a mansion with a high party barn and pool.
Charles is too petty.
Charles is too cheap. If he bought Harry a house he would have to pay property taxes and no one likes paying taxes less than the BRF.
I will be surprised if they want to publicly inflict new security costs to outfit a new estate. Does Emily have any thoughts on being told they are very happy at Adelaide and yet clearly seeking to move? Or about being told KP was their forever home only for it to be left behind?
I think if they really wanted it it they would risk the potential bad publicity of incurring security costs for a new estate. They tend to do as they want and then expect the rota to cover for them and wax poetical about ti being the forever home that the heir deserves bc… think about the kids! Or something like that anyways.
The only way a four bedroom house is too small for them (that is still a nice sized house, they act like its a cramped tenement in the middle of 19th century NYC) is if Carole is there pretty much nonstop or if William and Kate have separate bedrooms (so they need 5-6 bedrooms, not 4).
but if these things are true, these things would have been true before they moved there. So my guess is the thinking from Charles* was that he did not feel obliged to set them up in a third house that was also big enough for Carole and W&K’s separate lives. I feel like he probably said “if you want Windsor, fine, but you’re in AC because 1A and Anmer are sufficient for you otherwise.” Even as Prince/ss of Wales, Charles and Diana lived at KP and Highgrove. There may have been other property attached to the duchy etc, but those were their primary residences. So I can see W&K’s demands for a third house big enough to hide their fractured marriage rankling him.**
And yes, if they are so miserable at AC, they should just buy a private home like Charles did. Security would be an increased cost but they don’t pay that so they don’t care.
*because I do think it was Charles who pushed them to AC, my guess is QEII either didn’t care that much at that point or didn’t think they needed a new house at all.
**I think Charles is torn. i think he figures the Wales’ stable marriage – in the eyes of the general public – is good for the monarchy. But I imagine a lot of these behind-the-scenes machinations are annoying him and the desperate attempts to hide their fractured marriage can only go so far. And I think he is probably tired of being most known for his treatment of Diana, when William and Kate’s marriage is rightthere for gossip fodder.
You know, I never thought about it from the perspective of Charles saying/thinking, I was in this exact same situation 35 years ago, no you can’t have yet another house. I was way too young to pay attention to the ins and outs of the end of their marriage but before the official separation, but didn’t Diana pretty much live at Kensington Palace and he pretty much lived at Highgrove?
Charles is probably thinking why can’t you live at Kensington Palace, they live in Adelaide, and you guys just hang out at Amner when you want to do things jointly with the kids. Like I literally did with you and your mother.
Diana never truly felt at home at highgrove. It was in close proximity to the Parker Bowles home. And Camilla was playing hostess when Diana was not around and with Charles permission. Diana had no say in its selection as a home. It was already Charles before he proposed to diana.
Diana may have never felt at home at Highgrove but that isn’t the point here – or if anything, it proves my point.
Regardless of whether she felt at home, Highgrove and KP were where they spent most of their time. Diana didn’t stamp her feet and insist on a third mansion because she hated her husband.
@Dee2 I think they split their time pretty equally between the two, especially in the beginning. i think Charles mostly used Highgrove for weekends and extended breaks (like the Wales use Anmer now.) he was still in london most of the time because of his work schedule, since we know he actually worked regularly during the 80s and 90s, unlike William. And same with Diana. Neither one just hid out in the countryside for months on end to avoid working and/or to avoid their partner.
Maybe Diana should have stomped her feet. So she sat in KP after divorce and every reporter knew where to look for her. Nearly a prison. And as I read there was no staff at weekends. So her friend Simone found her on a Saturday scrubbing her bathroom😁.
Charles had an apartment at St. James Palace after the seperation, when he stayed in London. His staff was there the whole time. But even then he was touring through all the palaces and castles, he stayed at Sandringham or Windsor when he wanted. I hadn’t the impression that the Queen said no to that. The weekend Andrew Mortons book was first serialized in 1992, Diana spent the weekend with Harry in Highgrove (William was boarding).
There were articles from staff that Charles confronted her and she soon left Highgrove with Harry. One of the times he might have witnessed a heavy row…
@Blubb i’m talking specifically about when they were married. Of course after they separated things were different.
At this point, now that William has the Duchy money, Charles is probably just saying if u want it then go buy it. And before, he, as you say, was not obliged to give them something huge and fancy and so he didn’t. What get’s a little tricky is the fact that he publicly said he wanted Andrew to move into FC, which would suggest that he was willing to help the Wales move into RL. But honestly, did Charles ever really think he could convince Andrew to leave RL for FC? It always just felt like a fake reason to give for evicting the sussexes.
Those 19th century NYC tenements had ONE bedroom, outhouses in the back (later down the hall after updates to the buildings) for families of far more than five. One of the all-time most-memorable NYC museum visits I ever had was the Tenement Museum down on Orchard Street. Strongly recommend. Kate & William truly don’t know/don’t care how privileged they are.
Seeing as now Carole was seen in Jordan and was in the cruise with them, I think you have the real reason for needing more space. Kate was living with her parents throughout a lot of the time she was supposed to be in Anglesey especially once George was born.
Let’s not forget how Carole snuck on the trip to Australia despite the fact that there were nannies well. That should babe been a big deal. Kate is an adult but she couldn’t handle a toddler even with the nannies?
I don’t think Kate has been a functional adult because Carole has been there doing things for her since day one.
I’d agree with all of that.
We may find out further down the line that there have been issues with one or more of those children G, C, L, and that Carol took it upon herself to be nanny-in-chief (before Maria’s recent departure?). But has it worked?
The strain of all this on Carol will have been considerable. Yet, still, so curious that neither of her wealthy sons-in-law felt able to rescue her from the humiliation of bankruptcy nor her own supposedly wealthy brother.
The scandal behind all this may be considerable…….
It’s an interesting question about nanny Maria. Is she still around? No one really seems to know.
Can we pause for a moment and try to imagine what the RR would have to say about Harry and Meghan if they were openly scheming to acquire the home of a recently-deceased family friend before the body was even cold?
I have been thinking the same thing. They were publicly scheming while this poor woman was on her death bed.
And judging by the dates, they were doing the same thing when her husband was on his deathbed and then freshly dead too!
The poor Wales. Still searching for that elusive forever home. Sounds like they can have one somewhere if William is willing to pay his own money. Or if he can figure out a way to get someone else to pay for it, even better.
lots of aristo &/or adjacent people lent Charles and Camilla their houses or hosted them as a couple when they knew that the royal marriage was kaput. they had a wide circle of support, which they maintained by keeping a low profile, and both remaining in their ostensible marriages, keeping up appearances. the revelations about the marriage only trickled out over years. the damm didn’t really break until the Morton book. Everyone referred to Camilla as a “close friend,” which left just enough plausible denial for people clinging to the illusion. IIRC, in order to indemnify Morton against libel action, Diana had to pinch letters that Cam & Charles had exchanged to lend substance to the claim that they were more than just “friends.” What WanK’s story tells you, is that no one is prepared to suspend their disbelief. Not in the media. Hence the effort to “manage” the story. They overcompensate. And yet, it’s almost impossible for them to keep up appearances, hence the blackmail / bribery / propaganda / censorship….. Charles & Diana’s story played out in an organic way, & followed the public’s appetite for information. Because they realised they were being sold a bill of goods, just like Diana, hence the sympathy she garnered, not just for being the wronged party, but for being gaslit shamelessly. WanK aren’t fooling anyone these days. Hence the need for bribery. Let people get agitated about how many houses they have. Just don’t ask who William is spending time with. Kate has Carole. She’s letting them know her price for propping up this façade.
What a joke this is becoming, especially when they don’t even live together.
Why would William ever buy a private home? If he did that then he’d have to spend his own money to buy it, maintain it, staff it and secure it. He’d rather get a royal property for free and use taxpayers money for all the costs.
Willy and his ancestors don’t steal because they don’t understand how trade and purchasing works. They want to take without paying and then take more to maintain what they’ve stolen.
If I remember correctly, the Duchy of Cornwall owns Highgrove. He persuaded the Duchy to purchase and plough money into what was a run-down estate and to make it a gardening and environmental showcase. That’s why Charles apparently worked out some deal with the Duchy that allowed him to continue living at Highgrove. Both Charles and William seem to be cheapskates and always spend others money rather than their own. The Queen gave WandK a country estate from the beginning and then they got 1A at KP. They are well-housed. All this maneuvering just makes one think that need estates to hide their separation. Kate is going to hang in until she is Queen. Then, even if a separation is announced, she will still be Queen and entitled to all Queen privileges. Although, if the past is anything to go by, Kings can imprison, behead, or prevent them from attending their coronations. William is insanely vengeful.
Can we also discuss the degree of gauche and tacky, to be publicly sniffing round a property mere *days* after the resident has died?
What do the Westons think of this renewed fever to lay claim to their property, I wonder?
Carole truly does not care for anyone but herself. I’m guessing she’s the one chomping at her bit to get the Fort (and planting sob stories about poor George, who visits friends who have houses so much bigger than his, the poor boy must feel so embarrassed!) – after all, there’s no room really for her to sleep over at Adelaide! A wry part of my mind imagines this is why Adelaide was proffered in the first place: to keep the separation quiet, and to stop Carole Middleton from making
yet another royal property into her own personal Queendom.
I should very much like to see how this plays out. Charles, surely, still has leverage and chips to play. If Kate gets the Fort after all this public wrangling, it will speak volumes to the cards that Ma Midds is holding.
Agreed if Kate and Ma get the Fort NOW then what exactly do they have on Will that they can trade in Adelaide Cottage for the Fort? Apt though it is the fighting couple to live in a Fort!! Has Will been less than a gentleman and made our Kate cry? Has he been embracing more than Jason ‘s evil plans?
I’m surprised WanK haven’t started pushing to get Chuck/Cam out of Clarence House so they can move in. “But Dad…you’ve got all of fecking Buckingham Palace to live in, we just want a nice place where we don’t have to talk to or see each other!” Stamps foot and grabs the nearest priceless vase to throw against a wall.
If they truly do have a DV-riddled marriage, the worst thing Kate could do was move to an even more isolated place with her abuser.
Or wait until he is King and do what Charles cannot or will not do. Remove Andrew titles and kick him out of his home.
William is not going to do anything to andrew
Alternate headline: The Windsors have more inbred, workshy welfare queens than it can handle; they can’t spare any more money from the UK taxpayers’ dole for the Sussexes.