The Prince and Princess of Wales’ move to Forest Lodge in Windsor has been met by fury from some locals who have had their walking routes impacted. However, one dog walker says the effect is more devastating than many realise
Elli Fry Deputy Features Editor, Matt Davies Trendswatch Reporter and Ellie Fry
12:20, 09 Dec 2025
The Waleses have moved into their new £16 million mansion in Windsor(Image: Pool, Getty Images)
A resident from Windsor has criticised Prince William and Princess Kate as ‘selfish’ following their relocation to Forest Lodge, claiming the real impact on the public extends far beyond what most people understand.
Following a turbulent period marked by two cancer diagnoses, the passing of the late Queen, and various family controversies, William and Kate embarked on a new chapter last month by settling into their “forever home” at Forest Lodge, a £16 million property situated within the extensive Great Windsor Park estate. The move aligns with William’s commitment to safeguarding his family’s privacy in the wake of his mother Princess Diana’s death.
“If you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something that I vowed would never happen to my family,” he stated.
However, the relocation has sparked controversy among disgruntled residents who, in September, discovered they had abruptly lost access to significant portions of oak-dotted countryside. Local people report that approximately 150 acres of previously public land have been cordoned off to ensure the safety and security of the Wales family and their three children.
Before the announcement, dog walkers observed miles of fencing being installed, “no public entry” signs going up, and a significant police presence. The addition of CCTV cameras, dug-out trenches, and new hedging has dramatically altered the atmosphere of the cherished park, reports the Mirror.
Forest Lodge, Kate and William’s new home(Image: Getty Images)
The Royal couple has also established a 2.3 mile personal exclusion zone around Forest Lodge, with it being understood that anyone caught trespassing in the “Serious Organised Crime and Police Act exclusion area” will be arrested.
For Tina, who resides on the opposite side of Forest Lodge, this is a massive setback. She cautions that while the exclusion zone has been largely depicted as only encompassing a small two-mile radius, in reality, thousands of acres have been made inaccessible to the public. Regrettably, she feels the enchantment of the park where she has walked for 15 years is slowly being extinguished.
“Anyone can buy a pass to the Windsor Great Park car parks and walk in the public areas. So, by closing Cranbourne Gate car park and an area of land behind the Forest Lodge about three times the size of St James’ Park, thousands of people from miles around have been affected,” she informs the Mirror.
Tina, who treasured the opportunity to exercise her lively Golden Cocker Retriever off-lead across stunning open countryside, is incensed. “More than half of Windsor Great Park is private. The public areas for walking are extremely precious. By closing Cranbourne Gate and the surrounding land, people are being increasingly forced to walk on the other side of the park, which is ridiculously overcrowded at the weekends. At Cranbourne, there are hundreds of acres of open fields studded with oak trees, so I could train my dog very easily, whereas the side of the park where I live is all forest.”
The closure notice at Cranbourne Gate car park
And it is not just walking routes that have been affected. A children’s environmental educational centre within the new exclusion zone has also closed down, and it has been reported that two families who lived in cottages nearby the Waleses’ new home have been evicted.
Regarding the centre’s closure, the Crown Estate said: “While we are working together to minimise the impact on users of the park as far as possible, we will be pausing our onsite activities while we work closely with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to identify potential alternative sites.”
Tina, perplexed by Kate and William’s decision to shut locals out, expressed: “It’s clearly a selfish act, allowing a huge amount of public land to be closed, expecting other families to be evicted and increasing public costs so they have sufficient security living in an area which didn’t have police protection before. I doubt they gave a second thought to the implications for others. Enclosing public land for the benefit of one couple is outrageous. It’s like closing Regent’s Park in London and saying it doesn’t matter because you can still go to Hyde Park.”
William and Kate are said to have funded the move themselves(Image: PA)
The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly funding their move privately and will pay market rent on the property. Any work carried out on Forest Lodge will not come from the Sovereign Grant, which provides state funding for the monarchy.
Tina was informed of the contentious closure via an email from the Crown Estate just three days before it was enforced. “Due to the pending designation of part of the Great Park as a Socpa (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act exclusion area), access via Cranbourne Gate will permanently cease on Monday 29 September 2025. As a result, Cranbourne car park will be permanently closed from 7pm on Sunday 28 September 2025,” announced park management.
Windsor Great Park has confirmed that parking remains available at Ranger’s Gate car park, located “just down the road.” However, for dog walkers such as Tina, it is far from an adequate alternative, as that section is intended for horse crossings and requires a lengthy trek to reach areas where dogs can roam off-lead.
“When I realised we only had a couple of days left of access, I did go over there, and everyone I met was upset,” she explains. “I ran into a woman there that I recognised, and she said to me that when she got the email, she cried. For people who have walked there for years, it’s so sad.
Hundreds of acres have been closed off to the public(Image: PA)
“I also met a couple of people who had keys to the forest, which is the other side of Forest Lodge. And they were desperately upset; it’s like their back garden. You got a key to the forest you lived within walking distance, around half a mile. So it’s not as many people who have been affected there, but the effect on them, of course, is absolutely massive. You’ve got a dog and you’ve got hundreds of acres of woods that you’ve been allowed to use for years, and now you can’t.”
Tina hasn’t brought herself to revisit her cherished walking route since its closure. “Because I’m quite upset, I don’t like to go over there now and see it all fenced off and signed with police; it’ll stick in the core a bit,” she admits.
The real sting, she says, is how many people wrongly assume that the park is owned by the Royal Family. The park — and Forest Lodge — is instead owned by the Crown Estate, a public body whose revenues go to the Treasury. This means, as Tina points out, that “they’re supposed to manage the land in the national interest.”
“It’s not the royals’ back garden,” she warns. “This is not a decision in the national interest for tens of thousands of people to lose access to public land. Kate and William’s actual back garden has been fenced off from this land. It’s just a view from their bedroom window, so they likely won’t even use it. I don’t understand why they would have thought it was a good idea to annex all that land for themselves.”
A photo Tina took of work being done in the park
As a local with deep knowledge of the area, Tina can’t understand why the Waleses didn’t choose a more secluded, private property. “I don’t see the security benefit for the family, because if they were in one of the private areas, the kids could get on their bikes and cycle around. Forest Lodge is right next to the village, which is where lots of people who work in the park live. It’s not private around there at all; it’s the busiest bit of the park. So it just doesn’t make sense,” she says.
“It’s just so sad. I live here because of the park; that’s why I want to live here. It’s a huge loss to me and many others. The nature of the park is changing over time. They’ve very much commercialised it — over here at the moment, we’ve got the light trail and other things — and they’re just trying to squeeze us all into this one little area, which I don’t think is good for people, dogs, or nature.”
Minutes before heading out with her dog to try and find a new place to walk, Tina told us: “I want Kate and William to open up their eyes and realise the consequences of this move, and I hope that when William becomes King and has multiple properties at his disposal, he vacates the house and allows the public to get their land back. It’s not some hard-up family who have nowhere else to go.”
Reach plc has approached Windsor Great Park for comment. Kensington Palace declined to comment, and a spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: “A security boundary has been introduced by the Home Office and Thames Valley Police in a small area of Windsor Great Park to support enhanced protective measures. This does not affect the vast majority of public access to the Park and efforts have been made to reduce the impact on users of the park as far as possible. We are working closely with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) to identify potential alternative sites for the Environmental Centre.”