William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, are seen in a June 14 photo with their children, Louis, George, and Charlotte. (Max Mumby – Indigo / Getty Images)
By Johnathan Jones August 23, 2025 at 3:00am
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children are relocating to a mansion at the expense of the families who were already living a stone’s throw away.
Two families living in cottages near Forest Lodge, an eight-bedroom property in Windsor Great Park, were told to vacate ahead of the royal family’s arrival, according to reports.
“Close neighbors have been surprised to be ordered to leave their properties so that no prying eyes can see the Prince and Princess with their children,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News.
The Daily Mail reported that the high-end cottages were converted from Forest Lodge’s stables and rented out by the Crown Estate.
“They were told they had to move. They were not expecting it,” a source told the Mail of the people inhabiting the property.
Another insider explained that the homes of those displaced were too close to the royal lodge.
“They’re not going to want any Tom, Dick, or Harry living in those houses if there are going to be royals there,” a source close to the matter told the Mail.
The families were given no notice of the move.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News the decision to ask the neighbors to leave was made for “security reasons.”
“They were reportedly in close proximity to the Lodge,” Fitzwilliams said. “The Prince and Princess of Wales need shelter from the enormous pressures of royal life with a media circus watching everything they do.”
The property features a ballroom, a tennis court, Venetian windows, and extensive land.
The royal couple currently lives four miles away at Adelaide Cottage, where they moved in 2022.
That move came shortly before Queen Elizabeth’s death and during a period when King Charles III and Kate were each later found to have been suffering from cancer.
Fox News reported that William and Kate see the new home as a “fresh start.”
Turner, the royal expert, told the network, “Some royal skeptics are saying that it is not grand enough for a future king. William and Kate may already be setting the precedent for the future monarch living a much humbler existence.”
Sources told the Daily Mail that William and Kate are paying for the move and renovations out of their own pocket.
William — the heir to the British crown — receives about $30 million annually.
The Daily Mail reported that if William takes the throne, the move means he will be the first monarch not to live in a palace or castle.
Johnathan Jones is a journalist, novelist, and media analyst with experience as a reporter, editor, and producer across radio, television, and digital platforms. Follow him on X: @misterjkjones
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