Royal baby on the way, but housing remains unclear
Source: Agencies |
May 15, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IS it a boy? A girl? Prince William and the former Kate Middleton aren't telling, and palace officials are not revealing where the royal baby will spend its first few months, since renovation of their future home at Kensington Palace is taking longer than expected.
William's tour of duty as a search-and-rescue pilot in Wales is scheduled to wrap up around September, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the pair is formally known, are preparing to move from an isolated cottage on a Welsh island to new digs at Kensington Palace in London.
But the timing isn't quite right. Major refurbishment works at the palace likely won't be finished until at least a month or two after the infant is born. The baby (and future monarch) is due in July.
A major relocation can complicate things for any young parents-to-be; William and Kate are no exception, despite their wealth and prestige.
The couple's chosen quarters at the palace have fallen into disrepair since its former occupant, Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in 2002. Workers are still upgrading it and getting rid of an asbestos problem.
That means that once the infant arrives, William and Kate will most likely have to make do with their current temporary home in London, a smaller two-bedroom property also at Kensington Palace.
They could, in theory, bring the baby back to their cottage in Wales, although that seems farfetched, given that it's 450 kilometers from London, where the duchess is expected to give birth.
Palace officials will not comment, saying where the royal couple chooses to stay is a private matter.
Wherever that may be, come autumn the new family will be able to move into their permanent London home, Apartment 1a at Kensington Palace. The name is misleading: The property is actually a four-story house with a nursery, 20 rooms and a private garden.
So what will the royal nursery look like? Few will get a glimpse inside the room where the future monarch will grow up at the moment.
The child will be third in line to the British throne after Prince Charles and William. The royal baby's soon-to-be-great-grandmother, 87-year-old Elizabeth II, is Britain's reigning monarch.
William's tour of duty as a search-and-rescue pilot in Wales is scheduled to wrap up around September, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the pair is formally known, are preparing to move from an isolated cottage on a Welsh island to new digs at Kensington Palace in London.
But the timing isn't quite right. Major refurbishment works at the palace likely won't be finished until at least a month or two after the infant is born. The baby (and future monarch) is due in July.
A major relocation can complicate things for any young parents-to-be; William and Kate are no exception, despite their wealth and prestige.
The couple's chosen quarters at the palace have fallen into disrepair since its former occupant, Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in 2002. Workers are still upgrading it and getting rid of an asbestos problem.
That means that once the infant arrives, William and Kate will most likely have to make do with their current temporary home in London, a smaller two-bedroom property also at Kensington Palace.
They could, in theory, bring the baby back to their cottage in Wales, although that seems farfetched, given that it's 450 kilometers from London, where the duchess is expected to give birth.
Palace officials will not comment, saying where the royal couple chooses to stay is a private matter.
Wherever that may be, come autumn the new family will be able to move into their permanent London home, Apartment 1a at Kensington Palace. The name is misleading: The property is actually a four-story house with a nursery, 20 rooms and a private garden.
So what will the royal nursery look like? Few will get a glimpse inside the room where the future monarch will grow up at the moment.
The child will be third in line to the British throne after Prince Charles and William. The royal baby's soon-to-be-great-grandmother, 87-year-old Elizabeth II, is Britain's reigning monarch.
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