Kate Middleton & Prince William Are "Eyeing Up" Homes in Windsor

london, united kingdom september 5 princess charlotte arrives for her first day of school, with her brother prince george and her parents the duke and duchess of cambridge, at thomass battersea in london on september 5, 2019 in london, england photo by aaron chown wpa poolgetty images

(Image credit: WPA Pool)

published 31 August 2021

The Cambridge family currently lives partly in Kensington Palace, in London, and partly in Anmer Hall, Norfolk, where they spent England's third lockdown—but it sounds like this arrangement might not be ideal for their family of five anymore. A source told the Mail on Sunday that Kate Middleton and Prince William are "seriously considering" moving with their kids to Windsor, where the Queen has resided a majority of the time since Prince Philip's death in April 2021.

"Anmer Hall made sense while William was a helicopter pilot in East Anglia and it was useful for Christmases at Sandringham, but it doesn’t really work any more," the source said. "It’s a little too far away for weekends, but Windsor is a perfect compromise. They are eyeing up options in the area."

Windsor is just an hour's drive from London, compared to Anmer Hall's three. According to the Mail's source, the Cambridges are "seriously considering" making Windsor their primary residence, and making the trip to London for work engagements. Currently, they work in London, where George and Charlotte go to school, and visit Anmer Hall for a getaway from the big city—though they have lived there primarily at various points in their marriage.

The source floated the idea that the Duke and Duchess could take up Fort Belvedere in Windsor as their home, but Palace aides denied this. It's unclear where they would live if they did in fact end up leaving London, but living closer to the Queen might be useful "as the monarchy prepares for major changes in the years ahead," the Mail explains.

It's also worth noting that Windsor is home to Eton College, where Princes William and Harry went to school, according to Hello!. If the Cambridges moved to Windsor and decided to send their own sons to Eton, George and Louis would still be close to home. Rumors recently circulated that the Duke and Duchess were considering sending George to boarding school this year, "but they feel eight is a little young and want to wait until he’s slightly older," as a source told Us Weekly.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.