The Cambridges Will Relocate to Windsor by the End of the Summer

Prince William Kate Middleton Prince George Princess Charlotte Prince Louis

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 12 June 2022

Summer 2022 is one for milestones in the Cambridge family—of course the Platinum Jubilee, which celebrated Her Majesty’s historic 70-year reign. Prince William will turn 40 on June 21. And, apparently, the family of five is moving, after many months of speculation, to Berkshire and to a house on the grounds of the Queen’s Windsor estate.

According to The Sunday Times (via The Independent), William, wife Kate, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will still maintain Kensington Palace as their London home, but, by the end of the summer, their primary residence will be Windsor, as it has long been speculated. According to the outlet, George and Charlotte will leave their current prep school, Thomas’s Battersea, and enroll in a school near Windsor.

The family will also maintain their country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk.

“It’s understood that, in time, the family will move into Windsor Castle because the Prince of Wales is not planning to [be] there as much as the Queen does when he becomes King,” The Independent reports.

“The reality is they are quite confined in what they can do in London,” a friend told The Sunday Times. “The kids can’t go into the park and kick a football with friends. Their plan is to be there for the next 10 to 15 years and then move to Anmer, which is so special to them.”

It is thought that Berkshire will be the final move for the family before William becomes king.

“There is a sense of the future accelerating towards him, which is tinged with profound sadness—though he would never say it publicly—because of the implication that his grandmother would no longer be around, the added pressures on his father, and his family being under even more scrutiny,” a close aide told The Sunday Times.

The Sun reports that the recently refurbished Adelaide Cottage is understood to be the family’s first choice of residences upon moving to Windsor. And, in addition to being closer to the Queen—who now lives at Windsor Castle full-time—Kate’s parents Michael and Carole Middleton are only a 45-minute drive away in nearby Bucklebury, making the move even more understandable.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.