William and Kate considered Fort Belvedere before moving to Adelaide Cottage

When Prince William and his wife Catherine, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, announced they were moving from London to Windsor in 2022, many were surprised.

Equally surprising was their choice of home – the charming but small Adelaide Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.

But while the royal couple and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have since settled into life in the four-bedroom home, they could have chosen a much grander fort-style home on the same royal estate.

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Known as Fort Belvedere, the sprawling castle-like home is also located within Windsor Great Park – a sprawling 2020-hectare royal park south of Windsor, and bordering Berkshire and Surrey.

The historic property was first known as Shrubs Hill Tower after it was built between 1750 and 1755 for the Duke of Cumberland.

It was enlarged in 1828 to include a dining room where King George IV regularly dined. During her reign, Queen Victoria regularly took tea there.

It later became a grace and favour house for staff of Prince Arthur, who lived in Bagshot Park – now the home of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

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After it became empty in 1929, the then Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, asked if he could use it and was granted permission by his father, King George V.

He carried out extensive renovations of the interior and exterior, adding a swimming pool, tennis court and stables in the grounds, and many modern amenities inside such as bathrooms, a steam-room, showers, built-in cupboards and central heating.

It was where his relationship with Wallis Simpson blossomed, with the couple spending a weekend together there in January 1932.

Edward continued to use the house as a base after he became King Edward VIII on January 20, 1936. Wallis Simpson moved in that December, just a week before he abdicated.

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It was where he signed his abdication notices on December 10, 1936.

He reportedly planned to live there with Wallis afterwards but the two moved to France in 1938.

The fort sat unoccupied for 20 years and later became the subject of a 99-year lease. It was used as a home by several occupants. The lease was held by Canadian billionaire Galen Weston until his death in 2021, when it is thought to have passed to his family.

The home was thought to have been under consideration by William and Catherine when they were eying a move to Windsor shortly before Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022.

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It is thought they decided on the smaller Adelaide Cottage to give their children a more normal upbringing away from the prying eyes of London in their formative years.

Their move from their home in London’s Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage took place around the end of August 2022 and was timed to coincide with the start of the new school year in September, with the three children all enrolled in the same school for the first time.

They were pictured arriving with their parents at Lambrook School on September 7, 2022 – just one day before their great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II died.

Just over a week ago, Catherine was speaking with soldiers from the Irish Guards during a royal appearance to mark St Patrick’s Day in London when she was asked where she lived.

“We are in Windsor at the moment,” she said. “We were in London but moved there for more green space.

“It’s close enough to London; not too far away.”

It was where Catherine went home to recover from abdominal surgery prior to her cancer diagnosis.

It is also where the now infamous photo of Catherine with her three children was taken, which was released via the couple’s official Instagram account to mark Mother’s Day in the UK. The photo was later the subject of a kill order after it was found to have been edited.

Royal author Robert Hardman told People last week the couple was left bruised by the experience and furore that erupted.

”There was a real sense then that they felt bruised by it,” he said.

“It was treated like some great fraud.”

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