The Waleses were also said to be concerned about the Windsor estate being tainted by association with the former prince.
Having decided to make Forest Lodge their long-term family home, it suits the couple to be geographically distanced from Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who will move out in January.
The red-bricked Georgian mansion, once described as a “very substantial house in one of the loveliest settings in the country”, is a notable step up from their former home, the more modest, four-bedroomed Adelaide Cottage.
It boasts eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, a long gallery, a separate staff flat, a tennis court and a large pond. The house is protected by a ha-ha, a sunken fence commonly installed in landscaped gardens in the 18th century to give the illusion of an unbroken view while providing boundaries for grazing livestock.
