After more than 6 months of speculations, finally today we received the confirmation that all three Children of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will be moving to the new school this September. And as anticipated the new school is Lambrook in Berkshire.
The family will be moving to Four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Ground to ensure an easy commute for the children who will be day boarders at the 52-Acres of beautiful Berkshire county school. The move will bring the family closer to The Queen who has made Windsor Castle her permanent abode. The new home and new school also mean William and Catherine would be able to live closer to the Middleton family who has a manor in Berkshire.
Some more about Lambrook – The new school of Future King and his siblings, “There has been a private school at Winkfield Row since 1860 when Robert Burnside acquired Lambrook House with an eye on tutoring the sons of courtiers of Windsor Castle. 140 years ago, in 1878, two of Queen Victoria’s grandsons, Prince Christian Victor and Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, were pupils at Lambrook.” The new term starts on September 08 at Lambrook.
A video of the School grounds.
Catherine #DuchessofCambridge has flown in with Charlotte and Louis to Aberdeen by commercial flight. Caught disembarking along with nanny Maria and a RPO on their way to #balmoral pic.twitter.com/5h1gQVreVb
— Lady Parky by day Mrs Parky by night… (@LadyParky79) August 22, 2022
The confirmation came as The Duchess of Cambridge was seen flying to Balmoral with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis today. They were spotted sitting in economy on a budget flight to Inverness Airport. The Cambridge family will be spending the week in Scotland with The Queen before finalizing the move to the new home where they will not have any lived-in staff. The children’s nanny Maria, a housekeeper, and a chef will be housed in nearby cottages on the Windsor grounds.
The Adelaide Cottage was built in 1831 by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville for the wife of King William IV’s wife Queen Adelaide as a summer retreat. The Cottage was used by Queen Victoria as a tea house. The ritual continued during the reign of King George V and Queen Mary.
The cottage became a Grace and Favor home in 1941 and went through a major renovation. King George VI gave the cottage to his Equarry Peter Townsend who lived there with his wife in 1944. The cottage again went through major renovations in 1955 and then in 1991 and recently in 2015. The recent occupant of the cottage was Sir Hugh Roberts, former Director of the Royal Collection Trust.
Update: Marlene Koeing on Twitter pointed it out that the recent occupant of the cottage was Simon Rhodes and his family. Simon is the son of the Queen’s cousin, Margaret Rhodes.
From Daily Mail’s report, “A source said: ‘This is very much a decision that two parents have made to give their children the ‘most normal’ start possible. KP can be a little bit of a fishbowl. They wanted to be able to give George, Charlotte, and Louis a bit more freedom than they have to live in central London. It’s very much a decision that’s been led by the kids. “
The move will make it the third (fourth) home for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who will one day be The Prince and Princess of Wales and eventually The King and Queen. Prince William first received the Tam-Na-Ghar Cottage on the Balmoral Estate from his great-grandmother Queen Monther in 2002.
Update: I have always understood that Prince William first received the Tam-Na-Ghar cottage on the Balmoral estate from his great-grandmother the Queen Mother in 2002. But turns out it’s not the case. Netty Royal on Twitter just pointed it out.
The Queen gifted the royal couple a private home ‘Anmer Hall’ on her Sandringham estate in Norfolk upon the marriage of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Palace confirmed that the Royal couple will keep the Anmer Hall as their private home.
In 2017, the family moved to Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace in London to become a full-time royal. The Apartment will remain the couple’s London base as their official residence and their working base, which will continue to house their office staff. Reportedly, The Royal couple will pay the market-based rent for the new cottage from their private funds.
Moving the family to Windsor grounds makes sense as a practical move for the family. With all three children nestled in the countryside which is already secured due to the Queen’s main residence, will allow children to enjoy normal childhood while continuing their school education away from the public eye. Having the Middleton family nearby also means, they will have extra help readily available whenever they need it.
But there is also a downside to this move – somehow I believe the move means even a lesser workload for them, especially for Catherine. Commuting from Berkshire to London will take time and as most of their staff is based in London the team coordination and implementation of work strategies will be more exhausting. That will result in a lesser workload for the future Princess of Wales and I do not believe that will shine any positive light on the monarchy that has proven again and again more important and crucial than a single family in it even if it’s the family of the 2 future Kings.
We might see, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Sunday Church service as they have attended in the past with The Queen during their stay in Scotland.