By Emily Caulkett-
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children are moving from Kensington Palace in West London to a their new home, Adelaide Cottage – a 10 minute walk from Windsor Castle.
The Cambridges will retain their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, and their apartment at Kensington Palace – both of which are sizeable.
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It is understood Prince William and Kate want to give their three children more freedom away from London, and they want to be closer to the Queen, and also give them as normal an upbringing as possible.
Adelaide Cottagewas built in 1831 as a home for the wife of William IV, Queen Adelaide – hence its name.
In more recent times it was home to Group Captain Peter Townsend, the Battle of Britain pilot who became an equerry to King George VI and who became the close confidante of the King’s younger daughter, Princess Margaret.
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Townsend lived at Adelaide Cottage with his first wife from 1944 to 1952.
No major refurbishment will be required and the inevitable security considerations have all apparently been satisfied.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have today announced that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will attend Lambrook School in Berkshire from September 2022.
“Their Royal Highnesses are hugely grateful to Thomas’s Battersea where George and Charlotte have had a happy start to their education since 2017 and 2019 respectively and are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas’s.”
A royal source added: “This is very much a decision that two parents have made to give their children the ‘most normal’ start possible.
“KP can be a little bit of a fishbowl.
“They wanted to be able to give George, Charlotte and Louis a bit more freedom than they have living in central London.
“It’s very much a decision that’s been led by the kids.”
William and Catherine are understood to want privacy and a rural setting for themselves and their three children – George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Louis.
The Duke Of Cambridge’s children will be starting at nearby Lambrook School- a £50,000 a year private co-educational school near Ascot in Berkshire.
The school’s prospectus says it has “first-class teaching and superb facilities” – including a 25-metre swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course, an orchard with bees, chickens and pigs, as well as woodland where it says children can get muddy.
The school website says: “From 1860 to the present day, we have been nurturing boys and girls from the ages of 3 through to 13, giving them ‘feathers to fly’, ensuring that they enter senior school life as confident, outgoing, intelligent and creative young people.”
The school was founded by Robert Burnside “with an eye on tutoring the sons of courtiers of Windsor Castle,” the website adds.
Alumni of the school include two of Queen Victoria’s grandsons, Prince Christian Victor and Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein.
Other former pupils include Lord Alfred Douglas, author, poet and Oscar Wilde’s lover, and three sons of former prime minister H H Asquith.
Jonathan Perry, headmaster at Lambrook School, said: “We are delighted that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will be joining us this coming September and very much look forward to welcoming the family, as well as all of our new pupils, to our school community.”
Ben Thomas, principal of Thomas’s London Day Schools, said: “We would like to thank George, Charlotte and all of our leaving pupils for upholding the school’s values and for their many contributions to school life throughout their time at Thomas’s. We wish them every happiness and success at their next schools and beyond.
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