bitchy | King Charles doesn’t want the Wales family to move into Fort Belvedere

Last weekend, the Mail reported that Prince William and Kate want to leave Adelaide Cottage – their four-bedroom home on the Windsor estate – and take up a much grander property. They’re once again eyeing Fort Belvedere, which is also on the Windsor estate. The fort came up as a possibility for Will and Kate back in 2021-22, and they were reportedly quite keen on it back then, especially because of the size and the fact that it has a pool. They were also keen on Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew’s Windsor estate. The problem with the Fort and Royal Lodge is that both homes currently have tenants with valid, long-term leases which cannot be broken. So I do think this “we wanna move to Fort Belvedere” tantrum will go nowhere. Well, here’s another reason why it won’t go anywhere: King Charles says the whole thing would cost too much.

Prince William and Princess Kate’s potential new home would be a pricey investment, royal sources have claimed. The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to have set their sights on Fort Belvedere, a sprawling Gothic Revival estate tucked away in Windsor Great Park. The secluded residence was once home to King Edward VIII and served as the backdrop to his abdication in 1936 to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson.

Now, almost a century later, the future King and Queen are said to be eyeing the Grade II-listed property as their next family home. However, sources claim the King is not supportive of the idea, primarily due to the enormous cost of renovations the move would involve.

“It’ll take millions to renovate,” a Palace source told journalist Rob Shuter, writing on his Substack page #ShuterScoop. “Charles sees it as an unnecessary extravagance.”

King Charles has made a point of streamlining the monarchy in recent years, cutting costs and tightening budgets. However, with three children and long-term plans to prepare Prince George for future royal life, insiders claim Fort Belvedere ticks all the boxes for Kate and William.

“They’ve outgrown Adelaide Cottage,” one insider explained. “Fort Belvedere has it all — history, land, and proximity to Eton.”

The estate’s location near Eton College, where Prince George is widely expected to attend, is seen as a major advantage. It also offers greater privacy and security than their current home, nestled in Home Park, Windsor.

[From GB News]

This is asinine. The whole thing is just ridiculous. King Charles sits on a fortune so vast, no one even knows how much he actually inherited from his mother. Even if one of the grander properties on the Windsor estate needed millions of pounds of renovations, why not just pay out of pocket? You know, to maintain all of this inherited real estate? I’ve had the same thought about Frogmore House, not to be confused with Frogmore Cottage (which was renovated at great cost by the Sussexes). No one resides in Frogmore House, which is actually a pretty grand palace. It would also take a lot of money to renovate to make it a liveable family home. So why not just spend the money if you’re Charles or William? Why all of this fussing over “we can’t spend money” when it comes to renovating the future king’s fifth home? This also feels like it’s a story about wanting to keep Kate at Adelaide no matter what, right?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.