The princes of Wales have decided to isolate themselves from the world this Easter to rest at their country estate, Anmer Hall, in Norkfol, according to British media. The property, close to the well-known Sandringham House, was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II to William and Catherine in 2013 so that the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could spend long weekends and the Christmas and Easter holidays nearby.
The couple, who have temporarily withdrawn from public life due to Kate Middleton’s cancer treatment, are not scheduled to attend the traditional Easter Sunday mass this week. King Carlos III does hope to attend. Although he is also receiving treatment for cancer, he has not retired from public life like his daughter-in-law. According to The Times, what the princes of Wales want for the next few days is to “isolate themselves from the world and move on.”
Anmer Hall is a Georgian country house, built in the 18th century, which forms part of the Sandringham estate and is equidistant from it and from Houghton Hall, the residence of David Cholmondeley and Sarah Rose Hanbury, Marquesses of Cholmondeley and friends of the princes of Wales.
The interior and exterior of Anmer Hall has been renovated numerous times until William and Catherine took it as a second home. In the last renovation, carried out by interior designer Ben Pentreath, it was said that several rooms were added, a porch was included, the pool was relocated and the kitchen was also moved, so that it was closer to the dining room and was usable. for the princes. In addition, extensive trees were planted to provide privacy for the family.
Around Anmer Hall, William and Catherine enjoy relative anonymity in the nearby shops and pubs, where they are more than used to having the couple among their customers during much of the school holidays. The rural village of Anmer has only 29 houses and a year-round population of about 60 people. The couple lived a few very happy months in the property after getting married, because, when the renovation of their apartment in Kensington Palace was not yet finished, Catherine and William lived in Anmer for months after the birth of Prince George.
The princes of Wales faced controversy during the summer of 2022 due to their move to another royal residence a few months before the death of their grandmother. The renovation of Adelaide Cottage, a country estate near Windsor Castle, where they currently live with their family, cost the public treasury millions of dollars. It would not have raised eyebrows if it were not for the fact that a decade earlier, when they got married, the also million-dollar renovation of apartment 1 A of Kensington Palace, their previous house now in disuse, was justified, alluding to the fact that the prince would live there for decades, but no It was like this.
Since William became Prince of Wales, he also inherited the Duchy of Cornwall, a title that in turn has ownership of a total of 526 square kilometers of land in the United Kingdom. Although there is nothing official yet, the prince is looking for a way that some of the different buildings or plots within that estate can serve to alleviate the situation of the homeless, as published by The Telegraph.
At the risk of highlighting the excess accommodation of the British royal family, the Prince of Wales launched a new initiative in June 2023, called Homewards, which aims to end the problem of homelessness. and homelessness in the UK. With this project, Prince William defined the main cause that he will defend at this stage as Prince of Wales. This humanitarian concern is not new to the prince, since his mother, Princess Diana, has already dedicated efforts to the cause and made her children aware of it.
