There's no denying that the Royal Family has quite the property portfolio – which includes their more well-known homes like Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace, to the lesser-known (but no less fabulous) Tamarisk House and Bagshot Park. But, one home that has seemed to slip under the radar altogether is Fort Belvedere, also known as 'The Fort', which can be found on the Queen's Windsor Estate.
Despite being just a very literal stone's throw away from her home at Windsor Castle, the Queen has never actually taken up residence at The Fort. In fact, the impressive Gothic Revival style property hasn't been lived in by a member of the Royal Family since 1976 when the Queen's cousin Gerald Lascelles moved out. Before that, it was famously inhabited by the Queen's uncle, Prince Edward, who lived there with Wallis Simpson in the 1930s.
Since then, The Fort has been leased out to a Canadian billionaire, but the palatial home (which features a tennis court and a swimming pool) could very much be welcoming some new residents quite soon – the Cambridge family.
According to several royal sources, Prince William and Kate Middleton, who currently split their time between Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall, are planning to relocate with their three children. 'Anmer Hall made sense while William was a helicopter pilot in East Anglia and it was useful for Christmases at Sandringham but it doesn’t really work any more,' an insider revealed to the Mail on Sunday, adding that the couple had been 'eyeing up' properties in Windsor. 'It’s [Anmer Hall] a little too far away for weekends but Windsor is a perfect compromise.'
Similarly, royal source Katie Nicholl told OK! that: 'Neither William or Kate have ever been London people and have never enjoyed the chaos of the city. 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.'
'They love being at Anmer,' Nicholl added, 'But they need a base that is close to the capital so they can easily return for public engagements and events. Windsor seems like the ideal situation.'
And it seems Her Majesty the Queen is very onboard with the Cambridge's plans to take up residence at Fort Belvedere, according to royal commentator Daniela Elder [via OK!], who claims the 95-year-0ld Monarch has already been 'discussing' the possibility with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Time to get those moving boxes ready, eh?
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Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
