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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have decided to move with their children from Kensington Palace, west London, to a simple country house in the Queen’s Windsor area.
Their new home, called Adelaide Cottage, is ten minutes from Windsor Castle.
This marks a new chapter, according to their friends, and it is an attempt to bring up as normal a possible upbringing as possible for their three children.
This move underscores the strength and importance of the relationship between William and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
A relationship that grows, in importance, as the Queen relies more on Prince Charles and William, as she consults them on matters of the kingdom and family.
The choice, from the Duke and Duke of Cambridge, is a message that they are content to live in the Adelaide cottage, which is modest by royal standards.
There will inevitably be comparisons between the four-bedroom cottage chosen by Kate and William, and the more spacious, multi-room setting chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in California.
William and Catherine want privacy and a rural environment for themselves and their three children, George (9), Charlotte (7) and Louis, four.
All children will start at nearby Lambroke School, a private co-educational school near Ascot, Berkshire.
The school’s prospectus says it has “first-class teaching and great facilities,” including a 25-metre swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course, an orchard with bees, chickens and pigs, plus a forest that can get muddy.
It would cost more than £50,000 a year to send their three children there to study, assuming there are no sibling discounts.
The Adelaide Cottage has a long history of use, having been built in 1831 as the home of William IV’s wife, Queen Adelaide, hence its name.
More recently, it was home to group captain Peter Townsend, the Battle of Britain pilot who became a knight to King George VI and who became the confidant of the King’s youngest daughter, Princess Margaret.
Townsend lived in an Adelaide cottage with his first wife from 1944 to 1952.
No major home renovation would be required, and the imperative security considerations seemed to have all been met.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will keep their home in Norfolk and their apartment in Kensington Palace, both of which are large.
But now their main home will be where they hope the young family can enjoy a connected life as much as possible.
