Prince William is determined to be present for his children as they grow up and is set to ‘take on the morning school run’ when he and Kate move to Windsor with George, Charlotte and Louis, it has been reported.
The Duke of Cambridge, 40, will take his three children to school when they begin the new term together next month, reports The Sun.
William and Kate have selected the £21,000-a-year Lambrook School near Ascot, Berkshire for the young royals. It is just a 15-minute drive from their four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage on the Queen‘s Home Park estate.
As revealed by the Daily Mail earlier this year, the couple had set their heart on the highly regarded co-educational school set in 52 acres of grounds to replicate their own happy childhoods in the county.
But their offices and charitable empire will continue to operate out of London, with the couple returning several days a week for work. To all intents and purposes, though, Adelaide Cottage will be their main home, day-to-day.
And while there, both will pick up the school run. Kate has often been the one pictured taking Prince George to his current school, Thomas’s in Battersea. But a source told the Sun: ‘Both William and Catherine are very keen to do the school run.’
It comes as it was last night reported how during meetings to discuss the family’s future plans in recent months, Prince William’s own experiences as a grieving schoolboy have, once again, come to the fore.
More than just a physical move from Kensington Palace, experts have suggested that William is sending a clear message to the Royal Family that, while his children remain in their formative years, he views his most important job as being a dad.
One royal insider said ‘Prince William has forgiven his father and relations between them are stronger than they have been in some time, but he has been abundantly clear to all that he won’t repeat the way he was prioritised as a child.
‘He feels Prince Charles’ unquestionable work ethic had a direct impact on his upbringing, especially after the death of his mother. Far too often, his father chose his duties over being a dad.’
While the couple will spend most of their time now at Windsor, one source told the Mail that their base at Kensington Palace will still be used.
A source said: ‘Kensington Palace will remain their official residence now and in the future. Their office will remain there – private office, press office, the lot. They expect to be in London a great deal still. How many days is yet to be decided.
‘They will need to work out over the next few months how they balance everything. But they lived in Norfolk during lockdown and it still worked. It can be done.’
The Duke of Cambridge (pictured at the wheel), 40, will take his three children to school when they begin the new term together next month
William and Kate have selected the £21,000-a-year Lambrook School near Ascot, Berkshire, for their three children
Prince George, Prince William, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Kate on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 5
William and Kate will move with their three children George, Charlotte and Louis to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor (file picture)
All three children – George, Charlotte and Louis – will be sent to the prestigious £21,000-a-year Lambrook School in Berkshire
Moving from Kensington Palace means they can set down roots just a stone’s throw from the Queen at Windsor Castle.
The family will also be only 30 miles from the children’s grandparents Michael and Carole Middleton, uncle James and aunt Pippa in Bucklebury.
And the benefit of a mixed school, boasting just 610 boys and girls aged three to 13, is that all three children can attend together, cutting down the need for separate school runs and security teams.
The closeness to their new home will also enable Kate and William to continue to do the school runs themselves as much as possible.
It offers boarding but George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Louis will be day pupils.
The Good Schools Guide says the prep school has a ‘heart of gold’ and offers pupils ‘total freedom to explore, provided you’ve got your wellies on’.
It boasts of ‘first-class teaching and superb facilities’ including a 25-metre swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course, an Astroturf, squash court and a new £6million Queen’s Building for ICT and academic learning.
The prospectus quotes one parent calling it ‘the most magical place for our children to spend time, and they can often be seen rosy-cheeked and perfecting handstands, throwing balls or racing to the three stumps’.
Friends say the Cambridges loved the ethos of the school which is hugely successful but more ‘under the radar’ than others in the area.
Many of the pupils go on to public schools such as Eton, for which George is earmarked and where his father and uncle Harry went.
The couple’s decision to move to Windsor was driven by the wish to find a balance for their family.
They wanted to allow their children the opportunity to enjoy as normal a life as possible while they continue to serve as senior working royals, sources told the Mail.
‘Their children are at the heart of every decision they make,’ said one royal insider.
‘The duke and duchess want to give them as ‘normal’ start as is possible and this is their chance to give them that for as long as they can.
‘Kensington Palace is a bit of a goldfish bowl. The children can’t play in the grounds without being seen.
‘They are very fortunate, of course.
‘The duke and duchess are very conscious of that.
‘But they are hopeful this will afford a happy medium between their public and private lives.’
Kensington Palace – where the couple have lived until now at 20-room Apartment 1A – will remain their official residence both now and after they become the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The couple are said to be ‘acutely conscious’ that £4.5million of taxpayers’ money was used to refurbish the Kensington premises for them and want to ensure it is still a ‘hub’ of activity.
(‘Two kitchens Kate’ was a criticism frequently flung at the couple when it emerged there would be a staff cooking area installed as well one for the couple personally.)
In 2013 aides even said it would be their ‘forever home’ and somewhere they would live for a ‘long, long time’.
Yesterday sources told the Mail that remained true but added their circumstances had changed – they are parents to three young children and are adapting to suit their needs.
‘I think the word forever home has been a bit of a lesson for them. It’s certainly their long-term official residence still.
‘But it’s [also] about evaluation.
‘Things have changed for them as a family since then – they didn’t know what school their children were going to be sent to, for example,’ said a source.
The Cambridges will also keep on Anmer Hall, the ten-bedroom property in Norfolk gifted as a wedding present by the Queen.
The couple adore the house and would have happily brought up their children there but for its distance from London.
William and Kate will retain Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace as a base in London, where their staff will be located
The Cambridges also intend to also keep their current country home at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk
However given Prince Charles’s plans for a slimmed-down monarchy and the cost of living crunch, the couple’s insistence on running three homes may attract unwelcome criticism.
‘They thought long and hard about this and are not unaware [of the criticism]. But they love Anmer, I would say it is the place they actually view as home,’ one friend said yesterday.
‘It’s where they would have brought their family up if the logistics had been different.
‘They are very serious about being senior members of the Royal Family, they want to play a part and this is about finding a compromise that works with their family.
‘It’s about balance and what it the best for their kids while trying to serve as royals.
‘All of this is about them putting their children first. They really are such great parents, George, Charlotte and Louis are the centre of their world.’
Fortunately their new home, Adelaide Cottage, is fairly modest by royal standards albeit with a principal bedroom decorated with gilded dolphins and rope ornament reused from the 19th century royal yacht Royal George and a marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace.
With just four bedrooms, the couple will have no live-in staff for the first time, with their nanny, housekeeper and security team living nearby.
The Grade II listed property is owned by the Crown Estate and the couple will pay ‘market rent’, sources say.
The Queen and the Prince of Wales have both been ‘very supportive’, the Mail understands.
Indeed Her Majesty personally extended the invitation to live at Adelaide Cottage.
A source added: ‘It’s not the main factor but clearly their close proximity to the Queen – I’d say it’s a brisk ten-minute walk – will allow them to spent more time with her.
‘The duke adores his grandmother and values her opinion more than ever.’
Aides stress that any refurbishment needed above and beyond anything required by an ‘ordinary tenant’ would be funded by the couple privately.
‘There are no major costs. They already benefit from having the security in place there at Windsor,’ said one.
The house was built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide as a summer retreat and was the grace and favour home of Peter Townsend, the former aide whose affair with Princess Margaret rocked the monarchy in the 1950s.
According to a source, the Queen offered the Grade-II listed property to Harry and Meghan as a gift shortly after they married.
The couple allegedly went for a viewing and liked it but ultimately moved to Frogmore Cottage before quitting the UK entirely.
Meanwhile, George and Charlotte were pupils at Thomas’s Battersea until the start of the summer while Louis attended Willcocks Nursery in Kensington.
Yesterday in a statement Kensington Palace thanked the school for George and Charlotte’s ‘happy start to their education’.
It added the royal couple ‘are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas’s’.
Jonathan Perry, headmaster at Lambrook, said the school was ‘delighted’ the royal children will be joining and looked forward to welcoming the family.
Ben Thomas, principal of Thomas’s London Day Schools, wished George and Charlotte ‘every happiness and success at their next schools and beyond’.
Why William is refusing to repeat the sins of his father: DAN WOOTTON reveals how the Prince is determined to be present for HIS children – after Charles often was absent during his childhood following Diana’s death
Prince William is brutally honest with close friends and courtiers about the impact his father’s work had on his childhood following the death of his mother in 1997.
Even today, with his relationship with Prince Charles very much on the mend, the Duke of Cambridge makes explicit his desire to avoid repeating what he believes are the mistakes of his upbringing.
At meetings discussing the family’s future plans in recent months his own experiences as a grieving schoolboy have, once again, come to the fore.
That’s why the Cambridges formal move to Windsor unveiled this morning, which will see the family move into the comparatively small Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate and all three children attend the nearby Lambrook School from next month, is highly significant.
More than just a physical move from Kensington Palace, William is sending a clear message to the Royal Family that, while his children remain in their formative years, he views his most important job as being a dad.
My senior royal insider explained: ‘Prince William has forgiven his father and relations between them are stronger than they have been in some time, but he has been abundantly clear to all that he won’t repeat the way he was prioritised as a child.
‘He feels Prince Charles’ unquestionable work ethic had a direct impact on his upbringing, especially after the death of his mother. Far too often, his father chose his duties over being a dad.
The Duke of Cambridge with his children, Prince Louis (top), Prince George (right) and Princess Charlotte (left)
Prince William is brutally honest with close friends and courtiers about the impact his father’s work had on his childhood
The Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Kate pictured in attendance at the Commonwealth Day Service in March 2020
While his children remain in their formative years, Prince William views his most important job as being a dad
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pictured with their dog Orla attending the Royal Charity Polo Cup last month
‘It is his overarching, unquestionable mission and motive in life to be the best father possible, especially when his children are this age. He is unapologetic about that.
‘The public won’t notice much of a difference and, of course, he acknowledges his significant duties as a working royal and second in line to the throne, but he believes those duties can be worked around his role as a hands-on father.
‘So, for example, when timing engagements, wherever possible, school pick up times will be factored in, so either him or the Duchess can be there to pick up the children.’
It’s fascinating that, nearly 25 years on from her tragic death, the spectre of Princess Diana looms large in the familial decisions made by both William and Harry.
While the brothers have taken very different paths, both are convinced they are living their lives in a way that fulfills their beloved mother’s wishes.
In the case of William that means preparing Prince George to be king while infusing him with an understanding of real life and empathy for ordinary people.
But the Duke is also of the belief that Diana would not have approved of Prince Harry’s separation from the monarchy.
Indeed, in the years before her death Diana’s overwhelming desire was for the throne to skip a generation, with William succeeding the Queen, rather than her by then estranged ex-husband.
Diana remained a big believer of the importance of the monarchy for Britain and believed change should be made from within.
Prince William and Prince Harry pictured with father Prince Charles in front of the Westminster Abbey in London after the funeral ceremony for their mother
It’s fascinating that, nearly 25 years on from her tragic death, the spectre of Princess Diana looms large in the familial decisions made by both William and Harry
As former Daily Telegraph editor Max Hastings revealed in 2020 of an unpublished interview he conducted with Diana: ‘She said that all she cared about was William’s succession to the throne and she said to me, quite explicitly, ‘I don’t think Charles can do it.’ The outcome she wanted to see was for Charles to stand aside as heir… and for William to occupy the throne.’
Harry, by contrast, has embraced his mother’s rebellious, anti-establishment streak and disdain of the ‘men in grey suits’ behind-the-scenes of the British Royal Family who Diana was convinced were out to destroy her reputation. Harry and Meghan have the same victim complex in regards to them.
Friends say the Duke of Sussex has convinced himself, no doubt aided by his wife, that Diana would have ended up moving to the US to avoid the scrutiny of the British Press, who he has come to despise.
While it’s true Diana had spoken about a move to America, possibly even to enter the world of showbusiness, he wilfully misrepresents his mother’s relationship with the media.
Sure, she understandably hated the lawless paparazzi, who would stalk her every move wherever she was in the world, but she had close relationships with journalists who she often entrusted with her secrets.
It’s no surprise that the 25th anniversary of the Paris accident which stole Lady Di from an adoring world will be a particularly emotional time for both William and Harry but, sadly, it is not expected to bring the brothers back together.
Those who were close to Diana remain bitterly disappointed the previously tight brothers have been torn apart, knowing their mother believed the support they had from one another was going to be critical to cope with the demands of royal life as adults.
Prince Charles, Diana and a baby Prince William play with a rattle on the sofa at Kensington Palace London
Prince William, then just six months old, pictured with his mother Diana at Kensington Palace in December 1982
However, in line with their seismic differences of opinion, they are also dealing with the renewed interest in their mother and the car crash that killed her in their own ways.
Harry is believed to have leaned into his mother’s passing and the circumstances around her death – currently being explored by Channel 4 in a controversial primetime series – in the writing of his forthcoming autobiography that is set to further strain relations with the Royal Family.
William, meanwhile, is determined to continue to honour his mother quietly, but is opposed to the circus that surrounds the anniversary.
He intends to stick to his pledge made in two emotional TV shows to mark the 20th anniversary of her death five years ago not to speak publicly about the circumstances of her passing in public again.
That’s unlikely to make any difference to the ongoing fascination about Diana, an enduring iconic figure, especially as some of the shady circumstances around the investigation into the crash are introduced to the younger generation for the first time via conspiracy videos going viral on the social media platform TikTok.
But where she continues to make an even bigger impact from beyond the grave is on the lives of her sons, who both remain determined to continue her legacy in their own contrasting ways.