William and Kate ‘to move to Windsor’, Andrew to Scotland – but Harry only got 15-minutes with Queen

Big changes could be afoot for the House of Windsor this summer, with William and Kate reportedly set on a move to Windsor, while Prince Andrew could swap Berkshire for Scotland as part of a bid to rebuild his life.

Following family talks around the Queen’s recent Jubilee weekend, plans are now being put in place that could see significant changes to the lives of the royals later this year.

Possibly the biggest change will be for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are reportedly set to uproot their family from Kensington, west London, to Berkshire. 

It is claimed the couple are set to move to a house on the Queen’s Windsor estate  – leaving behind Kensington Palace as their main residence.

Meanwhile, The Queen is said to have been holding secret talks with the Duke of York and senior members of the Royal Family about how they can help Prince Andrew rebuild his life ‘away from the public gaze’.

With his recent US legal battle now over, the Queen has held family meetings at Windsor Castle to establish what role the Duke could fulfil that would be acceptable to the public.

While it is understood that Andrew – seen out horse-riding at Windsor yesterday – is determined to keep his Royal Lodge estate in Windsor, one option could be for him to rebuild his life in Scotland. 

While William, Kate and Andrew could all see big changes this summer, it appears to be little change for US-based Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

It is claimed the couple only secured a 15-minute meeting with the Queen over the four-day Jubilee celebrations last weekend, with senior royal aides reportedly describing the tone as ‘formal’.

According to The Sunday Times, as part of the Berkshire move, William and Kate will take their son Prince George, 8, and daughter Princess Charlotte, 7, out of their current prep school in Battersea at the end of the school year.

George and Charlotte will then join their younger brother, Prince Louis, 4, at a new school in Berkshire in September, the paper reports.

The move will see William and Kate leave Kensington Palace, which has been their main residence since 2017.

The couple moved their from their country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, where they had previously spent much of their time.

However, according to the paper, the pair will retain their property at Kensington Palace as their London home despite moving to Berkshire. Their press team will remain in west London.

The couple will also retain Anmer Hall, which the paper reports they will continue to use ‘regularly’. 

One friend reportedly told the paper that they plan to move there on a more permanent basis after their children are through ‘the school years’. 

‘They absolutely love it up there, it’s their happy place,’ the friend is reported to have said.

The move to Windsor will also see the Cambridges move closer to the home of the Duchess’s parents, the Middletons, who live 45-minutes away by car in the village of Bucklebury.

It has long been reported that the couple could one day move into Windsor Castle. The Queen has spent much of her time at the Berkshire castle following the death of her beloved Prince Phillip.

However it is understood Prince Charles does not plan to spend as much time there when he becomes king. It has previously been reported that the Prince of Wales plans to spend much of his time at Buckingham Palace during his reign.

The move comes as William is set to turn 40 this week. The royal is reported to have joked privately that he is finding it ‘so daunting’.

But he also reportedly hopes the move to Berkshire will give his family more freedom to roam when compared to the ‘confined’ London life.

It comes as the Daily Mail yesterday revealed how The Queen has been holding secret talks with the Duke of York and senior members of the Royal Family about how they can help Prince Andrew rebuild his life ‘away from the public gaze’.

The Duke will tomorrow attend the annual Order of the Garter ceremony and a senior Palace source confirmed meetings are underway behind the scenes to find a new role for him away from the spotlight.

The Queen’s second son was stripped of his military titles and HRH status in January as he prepared to face sexual abuse allegations, which he has always vehemently denied, in a civil lawsuit.

He agreed to pay a sum reportedly up to £12 million to settle the case.

With the legal battle now over, the Queen has held family meetings at Windsor Castle to establish what role the Duke could fulfil that would be acceptable to the public.

‘Clearly at some point soon, thought will have to be given as to how to support the Duke as, away from the public gaze, he seeks slowly to rebuild his life in a different direction,’ said the senior Palace source.

While it is understood that Andrew – seen out horse-riding at Windsor yesterday – is determined to keep his Royal Lodge estate, one option could be for him to rebuild his life in Scotland.

The Palace source added: ‘There is, of course, a real awareness and sensitivity to public feelings. There is also recognition that the task of starting to support him as he begins to rebuild his life will be the first step on a long road and one that should not be played out every day in the glare of the public spotlight.’

The Duke – who was absent from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last weekend after contracting Covid – remains a member of the historic Order of the Garter and will attend its annual ceremony at Windsor.

The Mail on Sunday understands that concerns remain within the Palace that any return to public life would be badly received and that the Queen will not reverse her decision to ban Andrew from official duties.

At the time, a statement said: ‘With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen.’

News of the discussions on Andrew’s future comes as he was branded an ‘absolute fool’ for becoming embroiled in a fresh row over money.

French socialite Isabelle de Rouvre – who at one time was owed millions of pounds by Andrew after selling her ski chalet in the Swiss resort of Verbier to him – made the comment amid new claims that he is involved in a £1.6 million debt battle connected to the property. Andrew is believed to dispute the amount of the debt.

It comes as reports today suggested Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met the Queen for only 15 minutes over the Platinum Jubilee.

During the meeting, the couple, who are now based in Montecito, California, introduced their one-year-old daughter Lilibet, who is named after The Queen, for the first time.

However, according to The Sun on Sunday, the meeting, which took place on Thursday as the Jubilee celebrations kicked-off, was kept ‘formal’ by Buckingham Palace aides.  

A source reportedly told the paper: ‘It was a quick in and out job. It was all quite formal.’ Buckingham Palace reportedly declined to comment when contacted by The Sun.

It comes as Prince Harry was spotted striking a pose this weekend as he enjoyed a spot of polo under the Californian sun, almost a week after arriving back from the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, played for his friend Nacho Figueras’ team Los Padres at the Cancha de Estrella Polo Club in Santa Barbara on Friday, in what was the first time he was seen out and about since returning to Los Angeles on June 5. 

After working up a sweat, the red-faced royal was pictured taking a break as he placed his hands behind his head and sunk into his right hip. 

He donned a green top, white trousers and black riding boots and knee pads as he basked in the typical LA heat, before being seen mounting his brown horse and putting on his helmet and protective goggles for another round of play. 

It comes after royal experts this week claimed that Harry ‘must have gone home feeling very depressed for what he has given up’, after he and his wife Meghan Markle decided not to be more visible in the Jubilee celebrations because ‘they did not have centre stage seats’. 

The Duke and the Duchess of Sussex, 40, missed both the Platinum Jubilee Party and Pageant – as well as the Epsom Derby during the four-day festivities. 

Meghan was not present for the game on Friday, which Harry’s team lost 12-8 to Dundee II. 

The couple made only one public appearance over the Jubilee weekend, despite flying in from the US with their two children – Archie and Lilibet.

They did not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour, and were also seemingly relegated to the second row during the Thanksgiving service.

Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl told True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat that the couple weren’t at other celebrations because ‘they did not have centre stage seats’.   

Meanwhile, historian Hugo Vickers added: ‘Harry has given up being Captain of the Royal Marines, who were out in force. 

‘I think he must have gone home feeling very depressed for what he has given up.’

Katie said: ‘I honestly think it’s [because]… they knew that they wouldn’t be in that front row. 

‘And why did they leave the Royal Family? They left because they weren’t in the front row. I believe that’s why they weren’t at the other celebrations as they did not have centre stage seats.’

How a last minute phone call from Prince Charles about the adoring crowds who were desperate to see her led to the Queen’s historic appearance at the Jubilee finale where she became ‘tearful and overwhelmed with emotion’

By Kate Mansey for the Mail on Sunday 

The Queen has remained one of the most poised public figures in the world in the course of her 70-year reign, rarely revealing her emotions in public.

Now, however, an insider has revealed that the huge outpouring of thanks from the British public and from around the Commonwealth left her ‘tearful and overwhelmed with emotion’ during the grand finale of the Jubilee celebrations last Sunday.

For many commentators, the high point of the four-day event came when the Queen appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

Dressed in a vibrant green Stewart Parvin crepe wool dress and coat with matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan, the Queen was seen standing next to a slimmed-down version of the official working members of the Royal Family.

Yet the historic moment nearly didn’t happen at all.

A source said: ‘The Queen only decided that she would go to London about three hours before the balcony appearance.

‘She was not feeling brilliant but the Prince of Wales had called her and told her she really ought to come if she could.

‘He told her there were so many people desperate to see her and he convinced her to come.’

Bound by duty, the Queen travelled from Windsor to London and was astonished by the goodwill shown to her when she arrived.

A source said: ‘The Queen was totally overwhelmed by the number of people waiting to see her – she had tears in her eyes before she stepped out on the balcony.’

After agreement with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, the appearance had been carefully choreographed in the moments beforehand – that the 96-year-old Monarch would be seen with the Prince of Wales to her right and the Duke of Cambridge and his eldest son, Prince George, to her left – a lasting image of the next three generations who will succeed her.

It may be the last time that all four generations are seen on such a high-profile occasion.

Inspired by the response from the public at home and abroad, the Queen issued a deeply personal message of thanks.

She said: ‘While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family.’

It is rare that the Queen has shown emotion in public – although she was seen discreetly wiping away a tear during a ceremony to decommission her beloved Royal Yacht Britannia in December 1997.

The Queen will now embark upon a new phase in her reign.

A source said: ‘Over time, the Queen will revert to becoming a more virtual Queen with digital appearances and video calls.’

Rather than ‘looking back’ on the Jubilee, a Royal source now says that the Queen is ‘looking ahead’.

She is expected to spend a long summer break in Scotland, where Craigowan Lodge, a stone cottage on the Balmoral Estate, has been fitted out with mobility aides, including a stair lift.

Tomorrow the Queen plans to be at the investiture for the Order of the Garter, though she will not join the procession or attend the service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

The historic ceremony will see the Duchess of Cornwall installed to the 700-year-old order of Knighthood, along with former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Baroness Amos. The appointments are in the gift of the Queen.

After tomorrow’s ceremony the Queen will be looking forward to visiting the place where she feels she can truly relax – Balmoral.

The weekend before the Platinum Jubilee festivities, the Queen went up to Scotland with her bloodstock manager John Warren to see the foals born this year.

An insider said: ‘After everything that’s happened this year and the success of the Jubilee, I can’t think that anyone would begrudge our 96-year-old Sovereign a well-deserved break.’