Kate Middleton & Prince William Want to Leave London "Chaos"

(Image credit: Getty Images ¦ Handout)

published 3 September 2021

Kate Middleton and Prince William are reportedly "eyeing up" homes in Windsor, where the Queen is currently based, and are said to be very "eager" to leave London, according to one royal expert.

"Neither William or Kate have ever been London people and have never enjoyed the chaos of the city," Katie Nicholl tells OK!. "Whilst their home at Kensington Palace is highly secure, they have often felt overlooked and that they lacked privacy. The older their children get, the more apparent this has become."

The Cambridges currently divide their time between Kensington Palace in London—where the Duke and Duchess work, and where their children go to school—and Anmer Hall in Norfolk, where they spent England's third lockdown this winter. This arrangement, however, is no longer the most practical for them, according to Nicholl.

"They love being at Anmer but they need a base that is close to the capital so they can easily return for public engagements and events," she says. "Windsor seems like the ideal situation. The castle is huge in itself and is the Queen’s permanent residence now but there are other housing options for them. Everything is on the table and up for the discussion."

Bringing their kids to school has also proven pretty difficult lately among the busyness of London, another reason why moving to Windsor could make the family's lives easier.

"Both William and Kate are very hands on with the school runs," Nicholl says. "Every morning and afternoon they try to do it themselves if they can. And whilst it may seem like a short drive, they have both found traffic to be a huge factor. Sometimes it can take an hour to get the kids to school and make their way back and that’s a long time out of their days."

Princes and duchesses stuck in traffic? Now that's something they don't tell you about the royal lifestyle.

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 British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. 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.