bitchy | Prince William & Kate won’t move into Windsor Castle right away?

I totally missed this earlier in the week, but the Telegraph had some information about the new Prince and Princess of Wales and what’s next for them following the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II. For a while now, it’s been somewhat established that when Charles became king, he would “give” Windsor Castle to William and Kate, as their official home. Charles doesn’t care for Windsor Castle, and he prefers to keep his Highgrove home as his official country abode. So, when will William and Kate move into the castle? Will they move into the castle? They literally just moved into Adelaide Cottage – a “humble” four-bedroom home on the Windsor estate – just about a week before QEII passed away. The Telegraph had those answers and even more. Some highlights:

They aren’t moving out of Adelaide Cottage at the moment: There is an expectation that the Prince and Princess will eventually move into Windsor Castle or one of the larger houses on the Windsor estate, something which has become more pressing with their change in status and seniority. But they have indicated to courtiers that they want to give their children a chance to settle into school and avoid any more upheaval for as long as possible, meaning that decisions on who lives in which property will be put on hold for now.

They won’t disrupt the children: “They won’t be starting from scratch when it comes to decisions on what happens to all of the royal properties,” said one source, “because there have been lots of conversations about that over the years, but things can change when family dynamics are taken into account and they will want as little disruption to their children’s lives as possible right now. They are very happy right now at Windsor and for the next decade or so everything will be pretty much dictated by what is right for the children.”

The PoW investiture: The Prince must also decide on arrangements for his investiture as Prince of Wales, which is scheduled to happen after the King’s coronation and is likely to be next year. William will become only the third Prince of Wales to be invested in Wales itself, and is said to favour a more low-key ceremony than the one at Caernarfon Castle for his father in 1969.
One possibility is that the investiture could take place at Cardiff Cathedral, and a decision must also be taken on the role of the Princess of Wales in the ceremony, as no Prince of Wales in recent history has inherited the title while married.

A celebration of Wales: One source familiar with the discussions said: “They want to make sure that any ceremony is about celebrating Wales, rather than focusing on them as individuals. They have lived in Wales and they have spent a lot of time going back to Wales and they want to make sure anything they do is in keeping with the wishes of the Welsh people.” The King spent 10 weeks learning the Welsh language and culture at Aberystwyth University before his investiture, though he had plenty of time to do so because the ceremony did not take place until 11 years after he was made Prince of Wales by the late Queen. Prince William is likely to want to brush up on his Welsh language skills now that he has the title.

King Charles wants Will & Kate to focus on the poor: As he handed on his title of Prince of Wales to his eldest son, the King gave him what was to all intents and purposes a mission statement: “Bring the marginal to the centre ground.” The Prince and Princess of Wales have been given their instructions to carry out a royal version of levelling-up, by making frequent and high-profile visits to the people and the areas that have for many years been left behind…the Prince and Princess are also likely to spend more time on official visits to some of the most economically depressed areas of the country, not only to lift awareness of their needs, but also to use their convening power to get communities, politicians and businesses together to find new ways of rejuvenating such places.

[From The Telegraph]

The fact that they’re not planning an immediate move to Windsor Castle is fascinating, and I suspect that some curious stuff will happen over the next six months. As in, Adelaide Cottage is now and was always intended as Kate’s separation cottage. Whereas William will have Kensington Palace and possibly “Windsor Castle or one of the larger houses on the Windsor estate.” Methinks William already has his eye on something larger for his own separation house. Perhaps Frogmore House (which is a palace) or Fort Belvedere, that medieval castle he seemed keen on. The parts about the investiture are also fascinating, huh? I wonder if Kate will even be included. And no, that’s not what “levelling up” means. But it’s hilarious.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.