By Danielle Stacey
Copyright hellomagazine
Security measures put in place for the Prince and Princess of Wales near their new home, Forest Lodge, have upset locals, according to reports. CCTV cameras, large fencing and landscaping will keep trespassers away from the family’s eight-bed abode in Windsor Great Park, Berks. But it’s come at a price for dog walkers after a car park and gate access to Windsor Great Park, which locals paid £110 a year to use, shut for good on Sunday. According to The Sun, an order read: “Due to the pending designation of part of the Great Park as an exclusion area, access via Cranbourne Gate will permanently cease.”
The area covers around 150 acres and has a 2.3-mile perimeter, which is set to be signposted, warning people not to enter. Trespassers on the land will face arrest under the Home Office plans.
Mechanical engineer Tom Bunn, 32, who often parks at the gate to take nine-year-old pooch Mr Brown on a walk through the fields near Forest Lodge, told the newspaper: “Obviously it’s disappointing as my dog loves it here. We come here every couple of weeks and we’re going to have to find somewhere else now for him to get the miles in. But I completely understand the safety of William, Kate and their family is paramount so we should make sure they can live happily here.”
Another woman, from nearby Winkfield, also told the publication: “Many of us have been walking our dogs here for 20 years so to be told we can’t any more is a kick in the teeth. We pay annually towards the upkeep of a park but we are no longer going to be allowed to use part of it. They’ve only given us a few days’ notice to say this section of forest is closing for ever. Now I’ll need to get in my car to drive further afield to take my dog for a walk.”
A huge wooden fence to close off woods and green space around the Grade II-listed Georgian house have been erected, along with trees planted for privacy. Special CCTV cameras have also been installed. No public consultation around the closure was held as under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, Crown land belonging to the King or his immediate heir is protected.
The order, made by Dan Jarvis, the security minister, reads: “The reason for the designation is that the site was previously in use by non-protected tenants, so the designation of land and property was not needed. By the relocation of a protected principal residing at the Forest Lodge site, it reflects its use as part of the wider Crown Land within Windsor and therefore is appropriate to afford this site the same protection as other Crown properties designated under section 128 of the SOCPA 2005.”
Forever home
It was confirmed in August that Prince William, Kate, both 43, and their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, are set to move into Forest Lodge from nearby Adelaide Cottage by the end of the year.
“Moving gives them an opportunity for a fresh start; an opportunity to leave some of the more unhappy memories behind,” a source told HELLO!’s Tracy Schaverien. “They are looking forward to creating many happy family memories in their new home.”
The Waleses moved into Adelaide Cottage in Windsor in the summer of 2022, just before the children moved to Lambrook School and Queen Elizabeth II’s death. In the past three years, the family have also faced health difficulties, with the King and the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnoses announced within weeks of one another. Kate confirmed in January that she was in remission from the disease, while Charles, 76, is still receiving ongoing treatment.
As well as their new abode, Forest Lodge, William and Kate also have use of their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall, as well as their apartment in Kensington Palace for official entertaining and meetings.
