Prince William and Princess Kate chose their home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor precisely because it was a "normal" house by royal standards. It's even been reported several times that they have no interest in living in nearby Windsor Castle itself, which would give them access to a grander lifestyle.
But now we're hearing rumors that the Prince and Princess of Wales were kind of hoping to move into Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's current home, which is quite a bit larger than theirs (ahem: with 30 bedrooms to their four at present). This, however, isn't looking likely, as Andrew reportedly refuses to vacate the house, per the Daily Beast.
"The Palace originally wanted Andrew out of Royal Lodge so that the property could be renovated and prepared for new lodgers," a source with inside knowledge of the situation told OK!.
"The Prince and Princess of Wales desperately want a larger property for their family in the Windsor area and discussions were originally focused on putting them in there. However, Andrew was having none of it and is adamant that he will see out the end of his lease at Royal Lodge."
A second source, this time a Kensington Palace insider, corroborated these claims, saying, "William and Kate love the cottage but it’s just too small for them. There are four bedrooms which just about fit them all in but there are other things that need to be considered. Staff and other elements need to be factored in."
Currently, the Waleses have no live-in staff for the first time since their children have been around.
The Palace source added that the royal couple don't really have enough space to work from home, and that they can't accommodate many guests. They said, "they were looking for a larger home but have now resigned themselves to the fact that they will be stuck in the cottage due to other properties not opening up for them."
While these sources make the situation sound fairly dire, down-to-earth royal expert Jennie Bond put things into a little more perspective for us.
"I’m not sure William and Catherine will be that fussed. They chose Adelaide Cottage because they wanted to give the children a more normal lifestyle," she said.
"Of course, they still have the apartment at Kensington Palace, and they have a large house in Norfolk (Anmer Hall) … so they are well acquainted with a grand lifestyle, and perhaps living in a relatively normal four-bedroom house (surrounded by thousands of acres of wonderful Windsor estate countryside) isn’t such a bad option."
Bond went on to suggest that Royal Lodge could be a better fit for the family when the children are a little older, but that they'll be happy enough in Adelaide for the time being. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace said, "there are no plans for the Waleses to move house."
Currently, Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah share Royal Lodge. Speaking of the unusual arrangement recently, royal expert Richard Palmer said, "of course, some people speculate that they are living there as a married couple, but [they] insist that's not the case."
