Christmas tree shoppers face a mile-long detour around Prince William and Kate’s new Windsor home at Forest Lodge as security measures limit local access routes
Festive shoppers looking to purchase a Christmas tree have voiced their complaints about a detour put in place around the new home of Prince William and Princess Kate, which is causing them to take a mile-long diversion.
Local access routes have been restricted to prevent individuals from driving directly in front of the Royal eight-bedroom residence at Forest Lodge in Windsor. This is where the Prince and Princess of Wales began moving in with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis last month.
This means that drivers heading to the annual Christmas Tree Shop at Windsor Great Park now face being directed around a new circular route – making them travel more than an extra mile in total.
One local resident told the Daily Mail: “A car was parked and running both days with what looked like two plain-clothes officers inside to prevent anyone going into the lodge’s grounds. The shop is right next door, so it is not surprising the Waleses are keeping an extra eye out in case anyone is tempted to take a peek.”
Another claimed it had resulted in some tricky situations on the road, telling the newspaper: “I have already seen a few near misses where people have driven the wrong side of the cones,” reports the Mirror.
Kensington Palace has been approached for comment.
Prince William and Kate’s new residence was described as their “forever home” when they moved to Forest Lodge.
The couple previously lived at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor’s Home Park before transitioning to the Grade II-listed eight-bedroom mansion. The relocation took place over the half term for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, with the family having set a goal to move in by Bonfire Night.
This shift brings the Wales family temporarily closer to William’s disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, who remains at his Windsor Great Park property, Royal Lodge – albeit approximately 1.4 miles away as the crow flies from William and Kate.
However, Andrew has agreed to vacate Royal Lodge for a new residence on the King’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk in the New Year, following being stripped of his prince and Duke of York titles by Charles amid the ongoing Epstein scandal. The prince and princess are understood to have fully backed the King’s leadership on this issue.
William has always been understood to have wanted to take decisive action regarding his uncle. Andrew was accused by the late Virginia Giuffre of sexually assaulting her as a teenager, after she was trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, an accusation the former prince denies.
