One of the big cultural differences between America and Britain is that in Britain, the “upper class” tends to prefer an indifferent education for their children. The children of aristocrats and royalty are supposed to do their time in various prep schools and boarding schools and then get packed off to one of the more well-connected universities where they’ll major in socializing and sneering. At no point are they supposed to be academically challenged. Which makes the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s schooling choices for their children kind of interesting. While the Cambridge kids’ schools don’t seem like pipelines for gifted students, they also don’t seem like the kind of posh, well-bred, indifferent breeding grounds for princes and princesses. The kids’ new school, Lambrook, sounds like it’s mostly a posh-mimicking school for the nouveau-riche. And as such, the other parents at Lambrook are kind of mad that their kids’ school is going to become some kind of royal fortress.
The school where Prince William’s children will start in 11 days is facing an angry backlash from parents over beefed-up security. George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Louis enrolled at Lambrook School near Ascot, Berks, after William and Kate’s move to nearby Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. But parents of other pupils fear measures to keep the royals safe will disrupt the relaxed vibe.
One mum told the Sunday Mirror: “A lot of parents are p***ed off. They’re worried the feel and atmosphere of the school will change with all the security. Many of us worry things like the carol service will now become more formal and won’t be the sweet, laid-back affair they usually are.”
George and Charlotte were previously at Thomas’s Battersea, in South West London, where it is understood they had discreet protection from armed royal officers. In June 2018, a man pleaded guilty to plotting terror attacks that included targeting the primary. And a woman caused a major security scare in 2017 after revealing she was able to stroll in after the gate and a main entrance door were left open.
The concerned mum added: “Parents are picturing armed police in trees and in the corridors – they don’t want their kids witnessing it. There are no electric gates, but that may change with the royal kids coming. It’ll no longer be so easy to come and go. It’s certainly not the same school and vibe we signed the kids up for, and most parents I’ve spoken to feel the same.”
I doubt there will be armed protection officers roaming the halls, just like I doubt there will be protection officers hiding in trees. But I bet there will be security upgrades for the school and… so be it. It’s not like the royal protection officers are going to say “oh, the other parents are mad, okay, we’ll stand down!” It will be slightly less disruptive for the students because the kids aren’t going to board as well, so there won’t need to be massive security upgrades to the dorms. Anyway… this whole move continues to be fascinating to me, especially since the Cambridges (or Kate and the kids) are only moving into Adelaide Cottage right now. They waited until the last minute to move the kids to Windsor, and the kids start school next week. What a huge amount of change for those kids.
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The Cambridge fans go in for saying that it is great that security people are around Cambridge children so all the children in school also have this protection as if
Yeah those other kids are expendable compared to the Cambridge kids and that’s why the parents are mad. They just were reminded that despite their own money and status, they still have to be placed below the Cambridge kids.
Of course, the Cambridge children attending this school will be disruptive and yes, their children will be treated as 3rd class because in England your children ARE 3rd class. The Cambridge children are at the top but that is the structure you support with your tax money. If they don’t like it, they should do something about it. Otherwise bow/curtsy to children because you support a system that believes the Cambridge children are born better than your own children and should be treated as such….more salty tears from Salty Island. I can’t with these people.
And take a wild guess who is PAYING for all those security upgrades! Go ahead, I’ll wait 😗🎶. 😄
Not to worry about the carol service. Kate will take it over and televise it and play the piano for them. And interesting how they have to throw in some vague kind of happenings at the previous school. Are they trying to compete with the fire story and imply George and Charlotte were in danger?
I believe it’s Kkkhate’s cockamamie carol extravaganza that prompted this mom to worry about the laid back event at Lambrook being overtaken. I’m just loving how these parents are spooling each other up over changes that may never happen, but let’s get them as judgy as Kkkhate’s aristo “friends.” It’s kind of sad for the kids, though. It’s not their fault their mom’s a problem.
The fact that she specifically mentioned the carol service tells me she was not a fan of Kate’s little concert last December lol.
I already like this random mom, whoever she is. And hope she keeps talking!
Right? The fact that they’re already talking to papers about their complaints is not a good sign for the Cambridges. These parents are ready to spill. Something tells me we might find out just how often the parents do the school run. It’s just whether the papers will print about it. I mean why don’t they want to be piano serenaded by the duchess? What peasants.
I laughed over the carol service quote. Was thinking how Carole Middleton as a person is exactly how the feared outcome of the carol service was described in the quote, while trying to appear laid back and sweet. The use of the word affair was the icing on the cake. It’s probably all just coincidence, but funny.
They’re trying to say that the move was dictated by the kids’ going to this new school, but they already had a school!
It’s amazing that no one is asking more questions about this. Why move two of the kids from a school where they’re already settled?
Fans are making up ridiculous stories about how “maybe George was bullied” or some nonsense.
Even if George was being bullied, are there no other schools in London?
Right. Also, what school is going to let the 3rd in line to the throne get bullied? Lol.
George was the staffer Meghan bullied??!?!?
/s
Well, the heir to the throne was apparently bullied at Gordonstoun. Some of the stuff that was said to have happened to George was stuff that happens to ordinary kids.
Schools in London would also have tighter security protocols generally because of the location of a school in an urban centre. Lamebrook is more suburban and so they likely had something in place but not as fenced in as a city school would have to be.
Again extra taxpayer costs that weren’t needed since Battersea was already set up with the desired protocols.
Oooh that didn’t take long for the other parents to come out and start complaining about them – there is going to be so much tea spilled from that school about the Keens. At least at the other school the parents for the most part didn’t run to the press.
The move will blow up in their faces am sure – I kinda feel that this school is a stop gap to sending them off to board somewhere.
I feel for the kids – if the parents are not happy about them attending their am sure the other kids will pick up on it and make it known.
The move didn’t have to happen at all. This is a problem the Cambridge’s have brought on themselves and they need to own it. It’s just a shame that the kids will have to pay the price for the fact their parents can’t even tolerate being in the same area as each other. This move will blow up in Will & Kate’s faces big time.
It is interesting because we assumed a posh school would be full of boot lickers who want to associate with them but perhaps the Cambridges don’t inspire that kind of thing anymore.
Sounds like at least a few parents may not keep everything quiet.
Well, the aristocracy likes to keep their secrets, which is prob why they all go to school together. They can gossip amongst themselves but not outside the circle. Already, this school does not seem to be like that. This school switch may backfire big time for the Cambridges.
I also think it’s a matter of how the press wants to steer the narrative. We did hear about parents being annoyed with Cambridge security at Battersea, and Will’s time with the yummy mummies, so it wasn’t completely silent. More parents could have leaked to the press and the press may have sat on those stories because of the invisible contract or the super injunction on Will’s part.
The press wants to publish stories around Lambrook because there’s the larger story here as to why this move (Adelaide and the new school) was necessary in the first place, but they’re not allowed to discuss it so instead they’re hiding behind leaked stories from other parents as a way in to the story they actually want to break.
I hope comments like the one from this mom become a recurring feature! Like every month this mom shares all the ways the Cambridges have made things worse/more difficult. If the increased security means the school run will take longer…we will hear of it!
They can always ask Buttons for a piano recital to bring the atmosphere back to carol service. It would be pre-taped, but still take their breath away.
@equality you beat me to it 😀
From the pictures i saw of the school, it seems big and spacious , so I am sure the security will be less obvious unlike central london.
I do think these parents have a point and it’s yet another reason the Cambridges should have stuck with the school they chose. It’s the same thing in the US when children are in the White House. There’s a reason that when they’re lived in DC (so you know – unlike Barron LOL) they’ve gone to that friends school. The Cambridges’ obnoxious quest to be “just like us!” by only paying $50,000 a year instead of $70,000 and choices of these more deliberately yummy mummy institutions is putting strain on these parents.
Kate waited until the last minute to get a better a home, but William did not lift a finger. She better get used to such treatment. From his point of view, he already paid for her parents Mansion and I am sure this is a sort of regret from his part because he sees how his brother has managed to use his 20 million to kickstart very lucrative careers while all William can show for himself is a fancy driveway.
Sorry, but I cannot see William living in a 4 bedroom house. They are separated. But I also do not see Kate living there either. I bet they will only use the house a couple of days a week, or even for a photo op if they must. They will be living at Middleton Manor and the whole conversation about being “overlooked ” makes sense if they want to keep their separation under wraps until TQ dies.
I have no idea why William has set this date of TQ passing to start being an adult, but once you consider he only married Kate because TQ told him to get on with it already, it makes emotional sense he is waiting to go full circle.
Regarding whether Kate and or Will would really live in a four bedroom cottage without live-in staff, there were rumors that Pippa and James bought Barton Court, the residence of UK designer Sir Terence Conran who died two years ago. The location in Berkshire, the sale price, the acreage, and its description as a house that was recently renovated but not known to be on the market match up. Kate will probably hang out there and at Bucklebury when it’s William’s weekend with the kids.
Interesting thread to pull. That home was sold against the family’s wishes, so if that is Pip and James’s new home? They’re already wrong-footed with friends of the family all over.
@ notasugarhere, how interesting with this bit of upheaval for TMW James & Pippa. I am certain that they will be much more welcomed than her sister and BIL though.
@Harper, I talked about Barton Court in a post weeks back having to do with the Cambridges moving to Adelaide Cottage. Interesting to hear that I am not the only person thinking of it is a possibility! I also said that I don’t believe for a minute that Kate would move full-time to AC, she has just worked too long and too hard to be the queen bee, only a house like Barton Court would satisfy her. As far as the Middletons’ home goes, when William assisted them in getting that property I thought at the time that it would be Kate’s divorce home so who knows (but it is fun guessing)?!
@Mary I saw someone speculating that Barton Court was bought undercover for Kate. I’m sure it’s what Kate thinks she deserves, but why would James Matthews bother? Would William really have 15 million to shell out to set Kate up in such style? Plus it’s 45 minutes from Lambrook so I don’t think it’s for Kate.
@Harper, I was thinking maybe Barton Court was part of an upcoming settlement, if not for divorce for separation. If that were the case, William wouldn’t be paying for it but probably Charles or the queen. Barton Court is far away from Lambrook but I was thinking they might use Adelaide Cottage or another residence in Windsor maybe during the week until the kids start to board. But then I really don’t see Kate settling for Adelaide cottage. Again, this is all speculation but the Barton Court sale and the Matthews’ purchase of a new home at the same sale price in the same area as Barton Court certainly leads one to wonder! There are also recent rumors that the Yorks and Cambridge will do a switch. In other words, the Yorks will get Adelaide Cottage and the Cambridges will get the York’s current home. So, who knows?!
Agree 100%!!! Kate thought Horse Teeth the Bald would magically pull a Grade A Four-Star “majestic pile” out of his butt for her to live in and be kept happy. However as you stated, “William did not lift a finger. She better get used to such treatment”.
@ Moderatelywealthy, I love how you have described how Bullyiam now sees how his involvement will be with KKKHate. You are spot on that he has no intention of lifting a finger again in this marriage. It is also his intention never to live in AC, but solely the final living quarters for CopyKeen as she will be granted no properties after the split.
I can see why Bullyiam is waiting until QEII passes. He doesn’t want to face her that his marriage is over especially given how upsetting she perceives divorce. Plus, he may be hoping for a much larger part of the pie in the will if he is still technically married, as I can see him holding out for more £££££££’s!!
But as another commenter mentioned here before, divorcing while the queen is alive would be much better for him. He would still have the protection and blessing of her majesty if he did leave Kate. With a queenless press not keeping the papers in check, the BM would go completely nuts with a keen divorce. It’s better to get it out of the way now , than wait until even more eyes will be in him after he moves up in the pecking order when the queen dies.
Also, we always talk about how if will divorces Kate before he’s made PoW, she loses out on that title. But she also will lose out on Duchess of Cornwall if there is a divorce before the Queen dies. Now she may not be interested in Cornwall since its so associated with Camilla, but is obviously a more significant title than Cambridge.
wonder if this is part of the negotiations – they wait until the queen passes, Kate is duchess of cornwall, and then the new wife gets to be princess of wales?
I can’t really see Kate clinging to the promise of Duchess of Cornwall like that (since like I said its so associated with Camilla) but maybe?
Why is the Duchess of Cornwall a more significant title than the Duchess of Cambridge? I mean, I know it’s traditionally given to the heir, but a Duchess is a Duchess, no?
Tessa, that’s because in the pecking order it’s higher because it denotes the spouse of the heir to the throne, the title being automatically conferred to the son of the monarch, which you indicated. Whereas the Cambridge title was given to William on the occasion on his marriage as a royal duke.
Also to add, the Duke of Cornwall has an income stream from the duchy which differentiates him from other royal dukedoms.
@tessa it’s always given to the heir presumptive (apparent? I get them confused lol). Like Charles was Duke of Cornwall from the time of his birth, William will automatically become Duke of Cornwall when Charles is king.
There is a pecking order to the Duke titles but I can’t follow them all, it may just be tradition. There’s a reason Andrew is Duke of York and not Duke of Sussex lol. But supposedly Charles wanted to start going by Duke of Edinburgh when in Scotland and he was told Duke of Rothesay is a higher title.
The Duke of Cornwall title would be bestowed on the heir apparent who is the eldest surviving son and heir of the monarch. An heir presumptive is one whose right can be set aside by the birth of another heir that can outrank him/her. Queen Elizabeth was heiress presumptive for a long time when her father was king because there was always the likelihood that the birth of a son would have outranked her, and he would consequently be the heir apparent. And obviously that never happened.
Duke of Cornwall is always a royal dukedom because it’s always given to the male heir apparent of the monarch. (They haven’t adjusted this for the new rules of succession permitting sisters to outrank younger brothers. ). The Duke of York has traditionally been given to the second male heir of the monarch so it usually means it’s the next ranked royal dukedom after Duke of Cornwall. When George V was the heir to the heir and Victoria died, he was Duke of Cornwall and York because his older brother had died prior to Victoria and so he was the heir apparent along with the York dukedom he already had.
I actually wonder if it would be LESS disruptive if the kids boarded (even though Charlotte is probably too young and George still seems young for boarding to me at 9 but thats with a US perspective). But if the kids are boarding, then the parents aren’t coming every day with their security convoy, the security is just there on the premises. William doing the school run every day (lol) will probably be more disruptive than if George was just there on campus most of the time. That’s just kind of my speculation though. With the school run, it means you need security for the kids and for the parents and then some security has to exit the cars and enter with the kids etc.
Regardless, sure, things like concerts and field days or other school events will take on a different feel, but I feel like if the security is professional enough, it shouldn’t be a huge change. But, I can certainly understand why a lot of parents may not be fans of it.
When I lived near a major Ladies College there were many children there that needed a form of security. International students who needed protection from threats of kidnapping mostly, as their parents were billionaires in their home country. There are many schools in England equipped to have unobtrusive security, I don’t understand why they have to impose on a new money school that doesn’t have this. Oh yeah, they are selfish.
Beautitude, exactly the point I was trying to make. You said it much better.
And its a pattern we’re likely to see repeated when they start high school (secondary school? whatever its called in the UK.) That’s one of the appeals of Eton IMO – the school is already set up to deal with the security that would come with George attending there (I’m assuming anyway). Another school that has a less um….prestigious….student population (that sounds weird but you know what I mean) might not be set up as well and it would be more intrusive to have the Cambridges attend.
If the children board at school then Kate will have no excuse not to work a full schedule of engagements four days a week once Louise turns eight and is old enough to board.
Kate will use any excuse she can find not to work let alone work a full schedule.
She has no excuse once he’s five and in school at all, forget boarding. With an empty house during the day, what will she do? Not cooking or cleaning or paying the bills, she has staff for that.
He’s probably already in kindergarten and she already has hours in the day to work, but she won’t.
@ BayTampaBay, she isn’t going to work because she is flat out lazy. On top of the fact that no one in the royal family is forcing her to do so. She has been pulling this shit for the last decade, tigers never lose their stripes.
As for the parents already pissed about their arrival, I find it quite delightful!!! I am happy to see that they will not be welcomed with open arms but that’s due to the Lambridges basic reputation around Britain, and their utter refusal to see how badly it looks to acquire a fourth home. I can see CopyKeen arriving at the school to try and make acquaintances with many of the parents and she will be shunned.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Keen gets pregnant in the next year or two (assuming Peen hasn’t been snipped).
A new baby would buy her more time to figure out how to officially stay with the FFK and hopefully get to the throne as consort. Bonus: she could lobby for a larger house.
@Blue Nails Betty — the baby ship has sailed. William has stated numerous times that will not happen, and if Khate wants another baby someone else will have to father it. He’s not going near her with a 10 foot pole let alone his own privates.
It will likely be massively disruptive for every other family at the school. Your kid forgets their lunch, homework, or diorama? You drive back to the school to drop it off. You have to be approved by security, whatever you’re carrying will likely be searched, may have to go through metal detectors, you are delayed by X amount of time because of these precautions. Every single time. Everything from school concerts to bake sales to dropoffs and school sports are now going to be security micromanaged.
The size of the grounds is also important. There may be armed security now patrolling around the perimeter 24/7, because the property can be accessed more easily from more angles than the London school . I’m sure the parents are mad as hell, especially as they were given no warning to get their kids to a different school for this Fall.
William was sent to board at Ludgrove at 8, Harry sent a few weeks shy of 8.
but that would all be true at whatever school these kids went to, right? In terms of being disruptive for parents wanting to run in during the day, etc.
I think the grounds are a big issue (harder to secure than a city school I would think) and I do think the timing is a big issue. If I’m a parent at that school and I find out about this arrangement less than a month before school starts, I’m going to be ticked bc I’m going to feel like I have no other option but to go along with it, there’s not enough time to send my children somewhere else. Wonder if that’s why the school and Cambs waited so long to announce?
A school in London would already be fenced it because it’s in a city. A country location might not have all the grounds fenced in because there is so much more property attached to it.
And the parents being told last minute would be an issue too.
Becks1, those issues would have already been standard procedure and demanded by the other high-profile parents at those schools. This is W&K demanding that level of security, last minute, forcing it on families who didn’t choose that type of school. As Dillesca points out below. If we’re to believe these kids are such targets? Now all other kids at that school are in danger of attack too. Whatever security is demanded for those three in classes is now forced on every child in their class too. ‘Sorry, cannot have outdoor field class today, RPOs think there’s an ill-wind’
I’m always quite impressed by how well spoken Diana, Harry and William are, (or were) considering that they didn’t go very far academically. Diana especially was incredibly articulate. I’ve been reading her interviews by Andrew Morton and they are a pleasure to read. (English is not my first language so I relish the opportunity to learn new words and expressions)
It must have come from the school she attended? So these schools must challenge kids somehow.
Diana had lessons in public speaking harry may have had also but William could use some speech lessons imo
William could use the lessons on manners that H&M are giving Archie — though they might be a bit advanced for him.
This might sound a bit weird but not all private schools are the same and do the same things. Some are very academic and test prep focused while some are a little more “gentle” and not so academic focused. But a lot of them especially the likes of Eton, Wetherby etc (aka 2 of the schools William and Harry went to) are more junior private members club for the kids so they can make connections/friends rather than academia focused. That’s not to take away from Eton’s teaching/results or whatever but for a lot of parents who want an Eton education for their kids, the deep connections/opportunities to be friends with people in high places is the main selling point. Academics second.
Forgot to add that education is not end all or be all. You can be someone who didn’t go too far in your education journey or didn’t do too well in school and still be knowledgeable and astute about things (as you mentioned). And on the flip side you can be someone who went to the best schools and got a masters and still not be able to talk about things beyond your circle/bubble.
I think it was Carole who told William to get on with it I think the new residence will be used for photo ops showing how they lead the simple life lol
I agree that there isn’t going to be things like security officers hiding in trees or whatever else these parents are thinking. It’s going to have a different feel now yes but it probably won’t be too big especially if the security isn’t too disruptive.
But I can’t be too surprised that the complaints have already started. I was snooping around some forums dedicated to London schools (how to get in etc) and someone was saying that they knew parents at Thomas’ Battersea who took their kids out of the school because they didn’t like the royal presence at the school or something like that. Take it with a grain of salt though.
The school will have to consider this turn of events since it is public (UK lingo) and the pupils are paying clients.
It is interesting if this goes beyond mere grumbling.
I’d like to think that the school had a meeting with the parents to discuss any changes that would take place when the Royal children join the school.
Just because the parents had a meeting or a letter sent home doesn’t mean they have to like the changes
1) Even if the school did have such a meeting, they will kowtow to W&K against the wishes of all the other families
2) Were these other families given Harry Potter Time Turners to go back a year, find new schools, apply, get their kids accepted so they don’t have to have their lives negatively-impacted by these selfish wankers?
As others have written, there are existing schools that have the level of security demanded by W&K. Why not choose one of those schools instead of upsetting all the parents at this school?
My guess is they did have a meeting and that’s why we have this article, bc the parents aren’t happy.
Lmao at the opener, the description of the educational system and at university “they’ll major in socializing and sneering”
I went to grad school at Cambridge. That description is pretty darned accurate. The English have an unearned reputation for politeness.
So true, @BeanieBean. I’ve heard my husband’s relatives greet each other with sentences like “Oof, you’ve gotten so fat!” So rude.
And I lived in London, so it’s probably not fair to assume all Brits are like Londoners, but I was frequently shocked by the rudeness of upper-class Brits — perhaps because I had bought into the stereotype of Brits being polite to the point of self-effacing.
The nobs all have doctorates in sarcasm.
I often think if this is a payback for their sins. They chased away Meghan (and Harry) from their appartment,then country and now they’re being chased from town to town, society after society to save face, specially Kate. Couldn’t have happened to better people.
That picture of louis silencing her will forever be epic. And it’ll also be used in the future by the press to carry out the heir-spare dynamic.
perhaps they are preparing their children for life after the monarchy is gone by sending them to school with children from business and entrepreneurial families.
I’m sure William wants an out from his inherited duties that he spends so much energy dodging, but any disentanglement from the monarchy engineered by William would include am exit package that includes millions and millions of dollars and several sole-ownership landed piles. Burger King won’t go unless it’s set up that he and his children’s children never have to work a day in their life.
The monarchy and the aristocracy are legally and monetarily tied together and tied into the English government and the entire English system. Even if the power of the monarch was somehow reduced, it is not going away without a dedicated unraveling of those ties. William and Kate would still remain aristocrats. Furthermore, Kate and her siblings attended similar schools and her family has produced 3 children and no careers.
I think the parents are more upset because things in the uk are getting so expensive and they see how hard they have to work to pay for their children education, and now it’s right in their faces that they taxpayers pounds are also paying for the Cambridge kids. I think its never been more clear to them, from the security cost to the school fees. And I know some say the school fees are paid for by Charles but doesn’t that money essentially come from the tax payers?
All of the funds W&K use are from The Duchy. Even when they say they’re ‘paying privately’ for whatever home they end up at Windsor? That means Duchy funds, because the Windsors pretend the Duchy is private property. All costs of the schooling for these three heirs will be paid out of the Duchy.
The security costs will be drained out of another budget (not Sovereign Grant or Duchy) and hidden in that budget as usual. Ex. When W&K refused to live on base in Wales, because his laziness and her absence would have been even more obvious? A 4-bed farmhouse on the private estate of one of the wealthiest men in Wales was leased for them, complete with four staff. That farmhouse got a million pound security door, and that was just the start of the security upgrade. More information was pulled from public view for ‘security reasons’.
@notasugarhere, Kate must realize by this time that she did not marry a wealthy man, at least not until Charles is on the throne and William inherits the Duchy. Using the information you provided above, Wm has no money of his own to settle on her and the Duchy money cannot be used in a divorce settlement. So this is my question for you; what will she live on post divorce and where will the money come from? There just does not seem to be disposable cash out in plain sight.
I also imagine that these parents are now thinking…what is royalty going to do for our school now? Will there be any donations, campus installments, etc.? Or will the Cambridge presence have to suffice?
It’s not going to be enough for this crowd who works for what they have.
Apropos of nothing…made me remember the times in Concord, Mass when we’d see Carolyn Kennedy in Brigham’s and we have fun finding the secret service guys. She went to Concord Academy.
The Duchess of Brabant (Belgium) is enrolled at Oxford, the Princess of Asturias (Spain) is in school in Wales, and the Princess of Orange (Netherlands) is expected to go to school somewhere in England this fall, and all three women are the CURRENT heirs to their respective thrones, and you never hear any drama about their security.
This parent is an outlier that not everyone in the school will bend the knee to the Cambridges. I feel for the kids. This may be a wake up call for them, seeing not everyone will be impressed with royal status; but in the it may be good for them.
I know we like to make fun of Kate, but she is the mother of an heir so I’m sure she’d get a lot more if they were divorcing. Diana got a Kensington apartment. I bet this cottage is just a placeholder until whatever nearby grander place they’ve been eyeing opens up.
The Queen gave Diana the apartment. I don’t think Charles would provide anything of the sort to Kate who I don’t think he is fond of. She’s lazy, dull, and constantly wants everyone to believe she is a normal country mother just wanting to raise her children and garden!
Charles will make sure her circumstances fit her PR.
Also, Diana was Princess of Wales, the DIL of the Queen. Kate is the granddaughter in law of the monarch. That makes a difference to these people.
But, one of my many theories about this move has been that Kate was offered the apartment at KP, and she said no bc she wanted to be closer to her family and she thought that she could turn down KP and get a bigger house in the country, and instead got Adelaide.
Good point Becks! I can also see the BRF being spiteful and petty. “Oh you don’t like Kensington? Then take this little cottage and that is the final offer.”
I bet that was the plan for the BRF all along. They could offer Kensington, which makes them look generous. And knowing full well that Kate would want to be closer to Middleton manor and would turn it down.
Diana worked and Diana was popular, that’s why she was given the grace-and-favour apartment at KP. If she had remarried, that apartment would have disappeared or it would have been gone once Harry turned 18. Charles, William – neither of them wants Kate swanning around London as the ex, so somewhere like Adelaide is the answer. Kate will not receive a big payout either, as she can only go for William’s personal funds. No access to Duchy funds for Diana, none for Kate. The purchase of Midd Manor 2.0 looks increasingly like the post-nup.
It’s fair enough that parents feel the security will be disruptive of the dynamic the school had– but I don’t think it’s been emphasized ENOUGH here that parents are reasonable to be concerned about their children’s’ safety at the school… having the FFFK and his siblings go there DOES make it a potential target. Americans may forget that while WE live with that fear for our children at school all the time, parents in some other countries do not.
I did wonder if the Cambs left London because they were making some ridiculous demands of the school there and the school fired back saying NO.
I can imagine that the well heeled parents at the London school would have threatened to pull their children creating a lot of problems so W&K found themselves a nice sleepy provincial school where they could throw around their Royal muscle.
At this rate the Camb kids will end up being home-schooled like Lilibet Snr.
There are probably parents who are currently involved with school activities and who actually provide behind-the-scenes support, yet they will be over-shadowed and their own work forgotten once Kate takes over the spotlight. Kate, and Kate alone, will be getting credit as the uber-mom who is sooooo very invested in the school, who “organizes” social activities there, etc. Even if she doesn’t do a damn thing. But it will be REPORTED that she is the backbone behind the school. And perhaps some parents will no longer be *allowed* to participate in some activities because of Kate’s presence (or William’s, if she can convince him to appear). I don’t blame the other parents for seeing the writing on the wall, based on Kate’s previous modus operandi.
Good point. Looks like this „new money” parents who actually work for that money are not that impressed with lazy but demanding royals. Also, if you send your child to a school outside London it’s possible that you want a more peaceful environment, not insanity around FFFKs security. As a parent, I would be pissed.
As well as the house at Kensington Palace, Diana got a settlement of £17M from Charles. I think this was to give her an annual income of £1M. She also had money for staff, offices etc.
Like Prince Andrew is kept in a certain lifestyle to keep him close and quiet, I’m guessing Carol would try to negotiate something similar for Kate. I’m sure she done her dirt but I’m also fairly certain, she has plenty of family dirt as well.
When TQ passes on, the Monarchy will be more fragile than ever. I’m sure they’ll want to keep her quiet.