Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have an exciting few weeks ahead as they get ready to start a brand new school.
The move from Thomas's Battersea to Lambrook School comes as the Cambridge family say goodbye to their London lives in favour of a new Windsor home. And now an insider has claimed it was the royal children who led the decision to move to the countryside, but it also fits with Prince William and Kate's desire for them to have the "most normal" start possible.
They said: "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."
Royal expert Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, has shared his thoughts on why the couple picked Lambrook, including the hope that it will remove their "nightmare" school run.
He said: "Relocating to Adelaide Cottage in the ultra-private Home Park at Windsor takes away the ‘goldfish-bowl’ aspect of the Cambridge family’s life.
"Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace is perfect in so many ways but the Duke and Duchess and their children are unable to come and go as they might like or take advantage of the nearby London parks because of the ever-present privacy issues.
"Logistically, having all three children in the same school makes perfect sense because it means just one school run. With the family in Berkshire the journey will be considerably shorter and easier than the nightmare that was Kensington Palace to Battersea twice a day.
"It also means that the cost of security, always a contentious topic, is much lower than if Louis was at a different school to his siblings."
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After months of speculation about the family's future, Kensington Palace finally confirmed the move to Windsor on Monday.
A statement 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."
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.”
The Palace also confirmed the Cambridges will move to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor’s Home Park before the school term begins.
However news that the family will be moving into a fourth house - while still keeping their others - hasn't gone down well everyone amid fear over the cost of living crisis.
The duke and duchess will continue to use Kensington Palace as their official working residence, and will also retain Anmer Hall, their country mansion in Norfolk. William also has a holiday cottage called Tam-Na-Ghar on the Balmoral estate, given to him by his great-grandmother the Queen Mother in 2002.
Royal commentator and former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said: “A fourth home for the Cambridges is a reminder the royals don’t suffer from the cost-of-living crisis and a looming recession in the same way as the rest of us.
“When taxpayers’ money was spent on refurbishing their apartment at Kensington Palace, Prince William, who campaigns for the homeless, insisted his family planned to stay there for many years to come.”
