January 2022

Whispers of a Cambridge Move to Windsor.

The whispers have been circulating for a while now that the Cambridges are planning to move to Windsor in Berkshire county. It was around June of last year that I read they had recently made a visit to Berkshire and were looking at schools there. Rebecca English had a pretty thorough write-up in the Daily Mail about it all. She reported the two were looking into schools in the area but also reported the Cambridges had inquired about various homes in the neighborhood, too. Several months later, Victoria Ward reported on the story again in an August of 2021 piece in the Telegraph.

The story didn’t gain much traction after that, but then this week another story has surfaced in the Telegraph detailing “the new Windsor set” that could make up the Cambridges’ social circle if they move to Berkshire. No other major papers have run the story (that I have seen), but Rebecca English’s report and a piece in the Telegraph certainly have my attention.

The speculated reasons for the move include a desire to raise their children out of the city center, closer proximity to family, and, of course, potential schools. If the reports are true, many believe it suggests that the Cambridges are planning to send George to Eton, but the Telegraph article says some sources believe that Kate will want all her children to attend Marlborough. Marlborough is co-educational, unlike Eton, so George and Charlotte could progress through school together.

The other question these rumors raise is, what will happen with Anmer Hall? I have seen some assume a Berkshire home would replace Amer Hall, the family’s 10-bedroom estate in Norfolk. The Daily Mail article in June sounded like it leaned that direction:

What it means for Anmer Hall, their private home in Norfolk, is less clear. The couple love the house and the area where they have spent the vast majority of the past year home schooling their children during lockdown. They see it as their family home and no public money has been spent on it.

But Anmer is a long trek from London – often requiring the family to travel by helicopter – and is far from Kate’s parents, sister and brother who play a huge part in their children’s lives.

I do not think a move to Windsor would replace Anmer. Anmer Hall could remain their destination for the occasional weekend escape in the country and their holiday retreat, just as it operates now. Anmer would likely remain a more authentic country destination—as opposed to the more suburban situation they’d likely have in Windsor. William and Kate have extensively renovated Anmer Hall, significantly improved the grounds, and beefed up their privacy there. The home is close to the Norfolk coastline, and we know the family loves their chilly beach outings, from pictures of George with Grandmother Carole to the snaps William and Kate included in their 10th Wedding Anniversary video.

Last, but certainly not least, Anmer Hall is essentially the family’s home on the greater Sandringham Estate. Just as there are homes for the various senior royals around Balmoral—Birkhall for Charles and Camilla and Tam-Na-Ghar cottage for William and Kate—Anmer Hall is the Cambridges’ residence within a larger family compound, not just a home in a random location in Britain. So for all those reasons I think a home in Windsor would not replace Anmer but supplement it.

Although some think the Cambridges would shrink from adding a third home to their portfolio, especially in a time of economic need for the general population, the reality is they are royals. The royal lifestyle includes homes around Britain that cluster close to where the monarch spends time—London, Windsor, Sandringham, and Balmoral—as well as the locations that the royals choose by their own preference, e.g., Charles’s Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire. The Wall Street Journal has run several interesting stories about the Windsor family’s properties, and they boast an expansive array of real estate. Although they like to downplay the luxury of their lives, royals certainly operate at a different level than most.

A move to Windsor would also be a move closer to family. Not only do Mike and Carole still live in Bucklebury, but several of you on Instagram have reminded me that Pippa and her husband James are rumored to be the anonymous buyers of Bucklebury Farm Park!

Bucklebury Farm Park is the sweet little deerpark/zoo in Bucklebury that Kate used to take George to when he was a baby. The property includes livestock and a play area for children. We got a few pictures of them there back in the day (above in 2014, and here with Carole and here with Kate). I assume Kate or Carole has continued to take all three children to the park, but I know that Bucklebury Farm Park changed its picture policy to protect the royals’ privacy. We haven’t seen snaps from there in years.

In any event, James and Pippa’s spokesman has declined to confirm the purchase, but said that if they had bought the property, it would merely be as a business opportunity, so it is unclear if they plan to make it into a private estate or if they have other goals. Perhaps they have not decided what to do with it and are holding the property while they decide.

We’ll have to keep an eye on this story. As one of you noted to me in a DM, this would be From Berkshire to Buckingham…to Berkshire Again!

Other Bits & Bobs

Kate was just confirmed as the new patron of the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League. She will be the first royal to take on one of Prince Harry’s patronages. When this news broke, I was confused, because I thought we already knew this. Then I was scrolling Twitter and saw that Roya Nikkhah broke this story back in August in the Times of London.  So it has been the plan to have Kate take over for a while. It is interesting to me that forward momentum has been so slow on reassigning Harry’s patronages. I wonder if there is a reluctance to reassign, because once finalized, it will really feel like the split is final, and Harry is well and truly gone. Just yesterday, the Times reported that Camilla will take over as patron of the National Theatre, a role that was given to Meghan in 2019. So perhaps the royals are well and truly ready to move forward.

If you missed it, a picture of George playing soccer/football circulated on social media this month. We know the little prince is quite the soccer enthusiast, a passion he shares with his father. William was on the sidelines like any normal dad cheering on his little guy.

Prince William posed for a picture with the opposing team.

January was otherwise a relatively quiet month for the royal family. Kate celebrated a mile-marker birthday when she turned 40 on January 9th. As you all know, she released several formal portraits to mark the occasion. I will probably write a post on those photos within the month.

~Jane

February’s issue will likely include a longer update on the Sussexes. You can learn more about this newsletter and subscribe at this post.