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<\/p>\nThe Prince and Princess of Wales relocated to their forever home of Forest Lodge on the Windsor estate at the end of last year in search of a new change for their young family<\/p>\n
The Prince and Princess of Wales moved into their ‘forever home’ just before Christmas last year(Image: Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n
The Prince and Princess of Wales<\/a> set themselves a challenging task last year by moving house just weeks before Christmas<\/a>. After a difficult few years in their former home of Adelaide Cottage, Kate, William and<\/a> the children have relocated their primary residence to the eight-bedroom, Grade II listed Forest Lodge, which many believe will be their \u201cforever home\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt marks the beginning of a new chapter in their life,\u201d says royal biographer and broadcaster Katie Nicholl. \u201cIt feels like the perfect fit for them and the Palace seem to be making it clear that this is where they\u2019re going to base themselves for the coming years.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Kate Middleton reveals she finds busy royal engagements ‘really hard’ and is told to ‘speak up’<\/a>READ MORE: Prince Harry quietly marks Queen Elizabeth\u2019s 100th birthday with moving gesture<\/a> The Prince and Princess of Wales marked a new chapter with their move last year (Image: PA)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s conveniently close to Windsor, and close enough to London for when they need to be there for work. It\u2019s also closer to Kate\u2019s parents, who we know are such an important part of their lives. They seem to prefer smaller residences; homes that offer a more intimate family setting than giant, ostentatious palaces. Forest Lodge isn\u2019t a small property, but it isn\u2019t on the same scale as Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n Forest Lodge is owned by the Crown Estate and, as such, the prince and princess funded the move privately and will cover the rent from their personal wealth. The red-brick mansion was originally built in the 1770s, but has been altered and extended over the years. Plans were submitted and approved last summer for more \u201cminor internal and external alterations\u201d.<\/p>\n While cameras have rarely been granted access to William and Kate\u2019s private residences, Kate\u2019s recent health update videos provided a few glimpses of the cosy atmosphere they cherish at Anmer Hall, their home in Norfolk \u2013 an aesthetic that may provide the inspiration for their new residence.<\/p>\n William and Kate moved into Forest Lodge in Windsor late last year<\/p>\n \u201cWe can just imagine that Forest Lodge will be a home with muddy boots outside, dogs<\/a> and kids running in and out of the garden, something lovely cooking on the stove and probably kitchen surfaces covered in flour from one of the baking sessions they love,\u201d Katie says.<\/p>\n \u201cThey may not have allowed cameras in, but they have painted us some wonderful pictures over the years that allow us to imagine what it is like. At Anmer Hall, there is very little around there, so they can go out for long family walks together and are left very much to themselves. It affords them the peace and privacy that they absolutely love, so I would imagine they will be hoping to emulate this at Forest Lodge.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s various relocations over the years reflect their different stages of life, most notably their move into the grandiose Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace in 2013. While officially described as \u201can apartment,\u201d 1A is a 20-room residence occupying an entire four-storey wing of Kensington Palace. This historic building was the birthplace of Queen Victoria and has served as a home for figures such as Princess Margaret and Princess Diana<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to the arrival of the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their newborn son Prince George<\/a>, the property underwent a huge \u00a34.5 million renovation, ridding it of some of the outdated features of the past, and introducing softer neutral fabrics, classic wallpapers and a more practical way of living.<\/p>\n William and Kate were living in Wales during the first months of Prince George’s life (Image: Tim Rooke\/REX\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n The move into 1A came at an important time for Kate in particular, who had spent the first few months of George\u2019s life living in a rented seaside cottage on the Bodorgan Estate in Anglesey, Wales, where William was working as an RAF Search and Rescue Pilot.<\/p>\n The move to 1A offered them a lifeline to nearby friends and family, following what Kate once described as a rather lonely existence for her and George in Wales. \u201cIt was the first year and I\u2019d just had George \u2013 William was still working with search and rescue and we came up here and I had a tiny tiny baby in the middle of Anglesey,\u201d she said of those early weeks of motherhood. \u201cIt was so isolated, so cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n After almost a decade at the Kensington Palace apartment, the family moved again, this time in search of \u201cmore green space\u201d in Windsor. They chose the rather modest Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom home set within the 655-acre Windsor Home Park. Built in 1831, the cottage was named after King William IV\u2019s wife, Queen Adelaide, who used the residence as a summer retreat.<\/p>\n While far smaller than Apartment 1A, the property met the couple\u2019s evolving needs by offering complete privacy with its dense, hedge-lined gardens and essential access to nearby schools for George, Charlotte, and Louis. Additionally, the location was much closer to Kate\u2019s parents\u2019 home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.<\/p>\n The move to Windsor was largely driven by the excellent school options for George, Charlotte and Louis(Image: PA)<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they first moved to Adelaide Cottage, people close to them were saying they could have chosen something bigger that would have enabled them to have live-in staff, but they didn\u2019t want that,\u201d says royal expert Richard Palmer. \u201cThey wanted a more normal, upper middle-class home with just enough bedrooms for them and their children, but not enough space for a nanny to live in because they just wanted to be a family unit. They didn\u2019t and still don\u2019t want all the paraphernalia that goes with being senior members of the royal family<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cKate always felt uncomfortable living inside royal compounds, as if she was living inside a goldfish bowl. Obviously people would recognise them and that was difficult for her.\u201d<\/p>\n Another cherished sanctuary for the family is Anmer Hall, their 1802 10-bedroom Georgian mansion on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. It was presented to the couple by Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> as a wedding gift, and has become a true home away from home for the family. They spent much of the first Covid lockdown at Anmer Hall, making the most of the property\u2019s tennis court, swimming pool and extensive mature gardens.<\/p>\n It was the Sandringham Estate that Kate chose as the backdrop for her video update in September 2024. In the footage, she spoke about having a \u201crenewed sense of hope and appreciation of life\u201d following her successful cancer treatment. \u201cThey absolutely love Norfolk, which is why she went there to recover from her surgery and chemotherapy,\u201d Katie says. \u201cIt\u2019s clearly a very, very special place to them. They love the nature, wild beaches, forest walks, and they also have a lot of friends around Anmer Hall, as do their children, so they\u2019re very sociable there.\u201d<\/p>\n William and Kate are “very sociable” when in Sandringham (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n The late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip<\/a> enjoyed many stays at Wood Farm, a countryside retreat described by a former housekeeper as \u201csmall and intimate\u201d. According to Richard, the late Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen often chose the farm over \u201copening up the big house at Sandringham.\u201d Prince Philip eventually made it his permanent home during his retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some real similarities between what Kate and William are doing at Forest Lodge and what the late Queen and Prince Philip did with Wood Farm,\u201d Richard notes. \u201cThey preferred the lodge to Sandringham House to avoid unnecessary space and fuss.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be a huge surprise if Kate and William actually chose to spend more time at Forest Lodge than at the palaces once they become King and Queen,\u201d Richard adds. \u201cThis raises the question of what the royal family should do with all those grand buildings, but this is something William is no doubt already thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal<\/p>\n WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here.<\/a><\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. 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