William and Kate throw party for builders and staff who helped them leave ‘cursed’ cottage early

The Prince and Princess of Wales laid on a ‘thank you’ party for the builders and staff who worked ‘tirelessly’ to get them into their new house early, the Daily Mail can reveal.

William and Kate served drinks and nibbles at The York Club, a private pub near Forest Lodge, their ‘forever’ home in Windsor Great Park, on Friday.

The venue is a members-only club for residents and employees of the Crown Estate which manages much of the property on the estate, including the Waleses’ own.

It came as the couple and their young family officially said a final farewell to ‘cursed’ Adelaide Cottage.

Last month the Daily Mail revealed William and Kate had brought forward their plans to leave the four-bedroom house on the King’s Berkshire estate.

They had initially planned to be in Forest Lodge by Christmas, but builders have been working round the clock to complete the move by Bonfire Night.

‘The couple very sweetly just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly to help,’ a local source said.

The family have spent the recent half-term holiday completing the move, giving Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and seven-year-old Prince Louis time to settle in before returning to school on Monday.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales laid on a ‘thank you’ party for the builders and staff who worked ‘tirelessly’ to get them into their new house early, the Daily Mail can reveal

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William and Kate served drinks and nibbles on Friday at The York Club, a private pub near Forest Lodge (pictured) – the Waleses’ new ‘forever’ home in Windsor Great Park

A 150-acre, Home Office-agreed security cordon has been set up at the eight-bedroom Georgian mansion.

William and Kate, both 43, made the decision earlier this year to provide a ‘fresh start’ for their children.

Although they had planned to live in Adelaide Cottage for several more years, their time there has been beset by unhappy memories. Indeed, it can be revealed that William refers to their experience as being ‘cursed’.

The couple initially moved their children to the property from Kensington Palace in August 2022 to provide them with a more protected, rural upbringing and to be close to the late Queen.

But she died within weeks of them moving in, the first in a series of major family challenges which included the release of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix series in December that year, followed by Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, the following January.

Then last year both Kate and King Charles were diagnosed with cancer. The princess underwent a course of preventative chemotherapy, with William describing the experience as ‘brutal’.

She is now in remission but the experience has been mentally ‘scarring’ for the family, sources say, and made them more determined to make decisions based on what is best for themselves.

‘Every part of Adelaide Cottage, sadly, had an unpleasant memory associated with it,’ an insider said.

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The couple will for a few months be closer neighbours to William’s disgraced uncle Andrew who is set to leave Royal Lodge, about 1.4 miles away

‘It’s a lovely house and they started with such high hopes, but in the end they have experienced some of their most challenging times there as a family… Little wonder that William feels like it was cursed.’

Kensington Palace has said that the couple intend to remain in Forest Lodge even after they accede to the throne, in a break with recent tradition. The Waleses’ have funded the move and refurbishment themselves and will be paying market rent to the Crown Estate.

The couple will for a few months be closer neighbours to William’s disgraced uncle Andrew who is set to leave Royal Lodge, which is about 1.4 miles away.

The Prince of Wales will arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Monday for three days of public engagements ahead of his Earthshot Prize awards on Wednesday night.

The ten-year initiative is designed to scale-up innovative solutions to environmental challenges and offers five £1million prizes every year.

Later in the week William will travel to Belem, Brazil, to represent his father for the first time at the COP30 climate change summit.