A few days ago, the “rent” paid by the Prince and Princess of Wales was revealed. This is the rent for Forest Lodge, their millionth forever home and the Windsor property which they swear will be their home whenever they’re king and queen-consort. Prince William and Kate wanted a gold star for paying £307,500 annually for Forest Lodge, but they don’t want to admit that the lease was determined before their royal protection “decided” that William and Kate also needed to grab 150 acres of public park land for their “estate.” Anyway, the latest addition to this story is that their lease agreement has a weeding clause. William and Kate must maintain their garden and “keep it in good condition, clean and tidy and free from weeds [and] must preserve all the trees, bushes, shrubs and plants in your garden.” Again, does that go for the whole 150 acres? And why would the Crown Estates need to specify that? Is it because of that Middleton-adjacent pot farm??
Meanwhile, we’ve known for years that William and Kate don’t like “live-in help.” Even their nanny Maria does not live within their forever home(s). They have plenty of maids and cooks and such, but none of them live on site either. Well, Robert Hardman has more – apparently, there’s no “butler.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales moved into their new home, Forest Lodge, in November last year, and there is one member of staff the royal couple reportedly won’t have. According to royal biographer Robert Hardman, William and Kate have ruled out employing a royal butler. The author made this revelation in his book, New King, New Court.
Robert wrote: “The couple did not seek to boost the staff numbers at Adelaide Cottage, not least because there would be little room to do so. Reports that the Prince was hiring a valet were knocked back. The Kensington Palace team does include a ‘yeoman’, a multi-tasking attendant who looks after everything from luggage to uniforms, but there is no ‘gentleman’s gentleman’ on the staff. ‘And certainly no butler,’ adds one source. ‘It’s very much them at home with the kids.’”
Hardman has it wrong – William does employ a valet, those claims were not “knocked back.” Now, whether William’s valet knows what he’s doing is another story altogether. Since William got a valet, he’s wandered around in wrinkled robes and too-tight trousers and he keeps trying to make French-made cardigans happen. As for Hardman’s other claim… I actually believe that they don’t have a butler. It’s more like… Carole Middleton comes over and organizes everything. I also think it speaks to how Kate doesn’t really know how to run/organize a house in the same way that someone like Rose Hanbury knows how to run a house. It shows a difference in class for these people.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace.
