Princess Kate could soon get the one thing she doesn’t have
She’s one of the few women in the world who arguably “has it all”, but there’s one thing the Princess of Wales is yet to tick off her list.
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Imagine the hell of being friends with Kate, The Princess of Wales at Christmas time.
What the dickens do you buy for a woman whose family has a trove of Fabergé eggs, 550 plus Leonardo da Vinci sketches and a handwritten copy of Princess Maragaret’s secret weapon sloe gin fizz recipe? A Jo Malone candle is not exactly going to cut it.
And yet, there is one thing that Kate does not have — a castle.
It now looks like the Princess of Wales could be getting one.
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Over the weekend the Daily Mail revealed that Kate and her husband Prince William are looking at upsizing from their comparatively weeny four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage to the vast Fort Belvedere.
Technically, it’s not a castle, fine. But the Fort, as it’s known, has about 40 rooms, eight bedrooms, boasts crenellated towers and turrets, and used to have canons from the 1745 Jacobite uprising positioned on its battlements.
But wait there’s more; specifically 59 acres, stables, a pool, a tennis court, a rose garden, walled garden, kitchen garden, large greenhouse, two lakes, paddocks and three separate homes for staff.
Built nearly 300-years-ago, the Fort was where Edward VIII abdicated and is far more in line suitable digs for two future Kings, a future Queen and their growing collections of Latin textbooks, clarinet cases and ceremonial sashes than anywhere with the word ‘cottage’ in its title.
It would be a significant step up for the family on the royal real estate ladder.
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A well-connected source told the Mail that William and Kate “feel they have outgrown Adelaide Cottage and need somewhere more substantial. This is the perfect new home for them.”
The Fort would be all but perfect given that “William and Kate are said to put a high value on privacy and a rural setting”.
The Waleses moving to The Fort would make sense both for completely relatable reasons — teenagers need and want more space — but also uniquely royal ones.
For William and Kate the inexorable long march towards the throne continues. This sort of far grander home is in line with the fact that King Charles has been quietly handing the Prince and Princess of Wales more power and more responsibility.
William has been busy stretching his statesman legs, repositioning himself as someone rubbing shoulders and agendas with world leaders. Last year he was the first senior British representative to meet with a re-elected Donald Trump, represented the King at Pope Francis’ funeral and in June delivered what his closest aides deemed a “punchy”, “landmark speech”, per The Times.
Meanwhile Charles has recognised Kate’s work, rewarding her and singling her out by making her the first Princess of Wales since Mary of Teck in 1910 to be allowed to issue her own royal warrants. (Diana, Princess of Wales was never granted such a boon.)
The Princess will soon wield the billion-dollar power of being able to slap her official royal seal of approval on her favourite products and businesses, which could see her officially confirm everything from where she gets her hair done to who does her facials to where she buys her wine — all royal warrants that Queen Camilla has doled out.
There are other big family changes afoot for William and Kate. Prince George could be on the cusp of leaving home, sort of. (Anyone else suddenly feel a bit old?).
George, 12, has only one year left of primary school and in just over 12 months he will begin his secondary schooling with $129,000-a-year Eton, where William went, strongly favoured as the likeliest choice. (Kate’s alma mater, Marlborough College is a strong runner up).
While the Prince and Princess have until now bucked tradition and not sent their son off to board at age eight years old, as both Charles and William were, at Eton there will be no choice.
It also remains to be seen what the coming year looks like for the Princess given it was only this month she admitted that she had struggled “to function normally” after finishing her cancer treatment last year.
The 43-year-old’s last minute withdrawal from Ascot in June — her essentially cancelling on the King and Queen at the last minute, decidedly not normally the done thing — was a reminder that we are still a way away from normal.
For now though, according to the Mail, the Prince and Princess are said to be “considering their options” and “no move is imminent”.
The biggest winner if they do move into the Fort — Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Charles fought and lost an embarrassing battle to turf his exiled brother and his ex-wife out of his home Royal Lodge with a reported view to the Waleses being handed the keys.
For now though, William and Kate and future Annabel’s 20236 members George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have bigger things to worry about. The arrival of August means it’s Balmoral season and the royal family’s mass migration north to Scotland, bringing with it salmon burgers for everyone, bagsing being allowed to skip the Highland Games and arguing over whose turn it is to have a go of the barbecue tongs.
• Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
Originally published as Princess Kate could soon get the one thing she doesn’t have
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