Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, once considered making Forest Lodge in Windsor their home, the same property the Prince and Princess of Wales will move into later this year with their children.
In December 1975, two years after Anne’s wedding, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the 18th-century residence was “strongly tipped” as the couple’s future base.
Instead, after being persuaded by Queen Elizabeth II, Anne and Mark's first marital home became Oak Grove House, a Georgian property on the grounds of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The following year, the late Queen presented Anne with Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, which remains her main residence today.
Princess Anne ‘steered away’ from Windsor home now claimed by Kate and William
|PA / GETTY
She also continues to keep an apartment at St James’s Palace in London.
Forest Lodge, located in Windsor Great Park, will soon be the “forever home” of William, Kate and their three children, who currently live nearby at Adelaide Cottage.
The eight-bedroom property is owned freehold by the King, but the Waleses are funding both the purchase and renovations privately, ensuring there is no extra burden on the taxpayer.
Planning documents filed with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead confirm that minor internal and external alterations were approved earlier this month.
Forest Lodge when it was photographed in 2018 | GETTYThe property underwent an extensive £1.5million refurbishment in 2001 before being marketed for rent at £15,000 a month.
At that time, photographs revealed original stonework, decorative plaster cornices, ornate ceilings and a striking half-barrel vaulted hallway.
The Wales family relocated from Kensington Palace’s Apartment 1A to Adelaide Cottage in 2022, ahead of George, Charlotte and Louis beginning at Lambrook School in Berkshire.
Forest Lodge dates back to the 18th century and has long been part of the Crown Estate.
The Gatcombe Park estate is where Princess Anne has lived since the 1970s | PALATEST ROYAL NEWS:
Captain Mark Phillips and Princess Anne on their wedding day in 1973
| PAThe house sits within Windsor Great Park, a royal landscape stretching over 4,800 acres.
Its location places the Wales family close to Windsor Castle, a key royal residence frequented by King Charles.
The move to Forest Lodge will mark their second relocation in Windsor in just three years.
Princess Anne, meanwhile, has lived at Gatcombe Park for nearly five decades.