After three years of living at Adelaide Cottage, the Prince and Princess of Wales will be moving with their three children to a new home - rumoured to be the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson confirmed that "the Wales family will move house later this year", but didn’t confirm exactly which home they’ll be moving into.
What has been widely speculated, though, is the idea that this will see the family moving into a "forever home". It's been reported that they could choose to stay there even after William and Kate eventually become King and Queen.
And now, royal expert Jennie Bond is claiming there’s a touching reason behind this decision to lay down steady roots - and it goes back to William’s own upbringing.
Writing in The i Paper, Jennie claimed, "After a troubled childhood and traumatic adolescence, [Prince William] has turned into a strong-willed man who intends to do things his own way."
When it comes to making his own rules and potentially becoming the first monarch not to take up residence at a palace or a castle, Prince William supposedly doesn’t mind choosing what’s best for him and his family - "and he doesn’t much care if traditionalists object", alleged Jennie.
She continued, "After a childhood spent shuffling between the homes of his quarrelling parents, William is determined to give his family the stability he missed. I think it’s unlikely that - even when his children are grown up - he will want to move 'the Court' around the country in the way his father and grandmother have done."
The former royal correspondent also went on to suggest that another potential big factor behind the move could be a desire for more privacy.
The Wales family originally swapped Kensington Palace for Adelaide Cottage in 2022, likely with the hope that their children could have more of an ordinary upbringing, with better access to private green spaces.
Jennie suggested, "[William] is almost obsessive about guarding his family’s privacy. And the fact is that they can have a great deal more privacy in a secluded house in Windsor Great Park than they could ever enjoy if they live in the middle of a major tourist attraction like the palace or castle."
Another source allegedly close to the royals claimed to the BBC that the move could be their attempt to get a "fresh start" following a challenging few years, including 2024 when the Princess of Wales underwent treatment for cancer.
Giving her verdict on Prince William and Kate's supposed 'forever home', woman&home’s Royal Editor Emma Shacklock shares, "I believe that the eight-bedroom Forest Lodge ticks a lot of boxes as the Waleses’ new home. It’s surrounded by nature, and Kate has been very vocal about how much comfort she found in the natural world throughout the past year.
"Forest Lodge is also private, close to the kids’ school and Kate’s parents’ home, and it doesn’t come with the associations of other royal occupants. They can make it entirely their own, which would work perfectly if they are indeed looking for a ‘fresh start.'"
