The Prince and Princess of Wales are due to move out of Adelaide Cottage, their home for the past three years, to the neighbouring eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park this half term. It’s been a tough time for the family while living at Adelaide Cottage, including the late Queen’s death, the spectacularly aggressive behaviour of Harry and Meghan and, of course, Catherine’s cancer.
So it’s not surprising they want a change, even though we all know how stressful moving house is.
I recognise the desire to be in a new environment having experienced too much cancer – my own and close family’s – in recent years. Last year, when I was in hospital after a colon cancer operation, my son tried to cheer me up by showing me pretty pictures of our garden and saying I had that to look forward to. And at first it was wonderful to be at home, somewhere familiar.
But recently I have become obsessed with how to switch things around in the house, even considering whether to move, which I realise has everything to do with wanting a fresh start and leaving the cancers behind.
Forest Lodge is by all accounts going through a complete renovation and it’s unlikely the details of the cracked ceiling roses or the discovery of damp under the floorboards will be particularly restorative. But choosing carpets and wallpapers, opening up rooms, weighing up pendant lights or downlighters and pondering over whether it should be bronze or stainless steel taps for the kitchen would, I imagine, be hugely enjoyable and distracting for the princess. Being diagnosed with any illness is horrible. But cancer keeps a tenacious hold of your body and your psyche – the possibility of it recurring always lurking in the corners.
Adelaide Cottage, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales for the past three years
Forest Lodge isn’t just be a bigger home for William and Catherine, but a tangible move into a much-hoped for future, writes Alexandra Shulman
A new home or a change of paint colours can’t completely remove that fear, but it can be a very real distraction. Forest Lodge isn’t just be a bigger home for William and Catherine, but a tangible move into a much-hoped for future.
GLAMOUR PUSS? NOW SHE’S AN EARLY BIRD
The other evening we were invited to dinner with friends at the ridiculously early hour of 7pm. This was because the other guests needed to be in bed by 9.30 because they choose to get up at 5.30 to complete their morning routine – exercises and activities – before, in the words of one, ‘getting on with my day’.
They’re not alone in allowing extremely early morning rituals to determine how they live their lives. An interview with 61-year-old Trinny Woodall in last week’s Femail Magazine reveals her commitment to rising at 6am in order to spend 22 minutes meditating. This is followed by some creatine supplements which ‘help bring some water to muscle’ apparently, before a daily work out with her trainer.
Where once the most glamorous people stayed up until dawn and slept late, now everyone boasts about how they rise with the sun. And it’s not only oldies. Young people are also choosing to go to bed early rather than go out. The reason? So they spend hours on their elaborate skincare regime.
IS PUTTING YOURSELF FIRST REALLY PROGRESS?
On the train recently, I spotted a young woman reading The Courage To Be Disliked. This is a ten million copy bestseller published in 2019 and still being pushed aggressively on TikTok. It’s part of a wildly popular self-help trend, that urges us to put ourselves first – even at the expense of others. Melani Sanders is an American social media star who’s gained more than a million followers on social media with her We Do Not Care Club where she invites fellow perimenopausal women to share the things they don’t care about.
On the train recently, I spotted a young woman reading The Courage To Be Disliked – a self-help book that urges us to put ourselves first, writes Alexandra
Women are particularly susceptible to movements that put individual desires front of frame. And it’s understandable so many of us find the idea appealing. For years we have had to be the supportive ones in the family, often at the expense of our own wishes or ambitions. But, even so, promoting the message that belief in our own desires should come first no matter how inconvenient or unpleasant to others, strikes me as a step backwards rather than progress.
I’LL ALWAYS FALL FOR THE PROMISE OF YOUTH
Speaking of Instagram, I surprise myself by how often I fall for the ads the algorithm sends my way. Watching a porcelain skinned Korean make-up artist explain the secret to her movie star clients’ complexions was a collagen-soaked face mask, I bought it. It must be produced in South Korea because it took weeks to arrive, but I whacked it on last night.
After looking like Hannibal Lecter for the required minimum of two hours, I peeled it off eager to see the transformation. And yes, the bags under my eyes were slightly diminished and my skin had a slight sheen, but by the time I went to bed five hours later, my face had reverted back to normal. Was I surprised? No. Yet, the next time I’m targeted by a sheet mask promising radiant youth, I’ll no doubt still fall for it. Hope always triumphs over experience.
MY BRAIN WON’T DIAL INTO MOBILE NUMBERS
When I went to collect something my boyfriend had left at the dry cleaners, I was asked for his mobile number. I didn’t know it and had left my phone in the car. I’ve never been able to remember anyone else’s mobile numbers, but I still remember countless landlines, even those that are so old they start with three letters. Does anyone have a solution?
JEWISH BENEFACTORS HELP CULTURE FLOURISH
Good luck to Nicholas Cullinan, director at the British Museum who’s hosting the Pink Ball, a huge fundraiser, this weekend. It’s worth remembering in this time of rising antisemitism that were it not for the huge contributions of Jewish philanthropists including the Wolfsons, the Rothschilds and Dame Vivien Duffield, many cultural institutions would find it hard to flourish, no matter how many fabulous balls they host.