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The Waleses outside anmer hall© Getty

Princess Kate and Prince William's £1.5m home renovations at Anmer Hall confused the late Queen

The Prince and Princess of Wales own a picturesque second home in Norfolk

Katie Daly
Lifestyle Writer
September 19, 2024
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The Prince and Princess of Wales offered royal followers an unprecedented look inside their life at Anmer Hall last week when Kate shared a health update with the public, revealing she has completed her preventative chemotherapy for cancer.

In the video, the royal couple were seen enjoying candid moments with their children in woodland near their Norfolk home and inside their mansion.

Anmer Hall is close to the Sandringham Estate© Max Mumby/Indigo
Anmer Hall is close to the Sandringham Estate

The Waleses enjoyed an evening playing cards with Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton in their boho dining room of dreams, and the doting mother of three was seen pushing her youngest son Prince Louis on a swing in their fairytale garden.

Kate Middleton playing cards with Michael Middleton and daughter Princess Charlotte© Kensington Palace
Playing cards with Carole and Michael at home

To get Anmer Hall to the place it is now, both aesthetically and structurally, William and Kate commissioned renovations which reportedly cost £1.5 million.

Carole Middleton playing cards with Prince George and Louis at Anmer Hall© Kensington Palace
The Waleses were seen at home with the Middletons

The renovation also featured extra security measures including planting trees around the perimeter of the property, as well as rerouting the main driveway across a field in front of the house, and moving the main gate further down the driveway.

William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis clap for carers outside Anmer Hall, Norfolk© Getty
William and Kate retreat to Norfolk in the summer

However, it was a certain interior renovation that reportedly left Prince William's late grandmother Queen Elizabeth baffled. 

The kitchen was moved to mean it served as the centre of the home. As per Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life by Sally Bedell Smith, the late Queen is said to have remarked: "It's extraordinary that they all live in the kitchen – only one room!". 

Spicing up Anmer Hall

Ben Pentreath was the mastermind behind the royal renovations. He previously worked with the Princess of Wales on updates made to the apartment she previously shared with William at Kensington Palace. 

Kate Middleton pictured at Anmer Hall© Kensington Palace
Princess Kate has shared a heartfelt video including a clip of their garden

DISCOVER:  8 of Princess Kate and Prince William's most affectionate moments with George, Charlotte and Louis from family video

Meanwhile, it was architect Charles Morris who looked after the more structural changes to the 10-bedroom country home. Morris suggested adding a glass-lined "garden room" - presumably for better views of the sprawling outdoor space which wouldn't be out of place in a certain Frances Hodgson Burnett novel.

Inside Anmer Hall

  • Anmer Hall is the Prince and Princess of Wales' country home on the Sandringham estate.
  • The property is a 10-bedroom Georgian manor house featuring a swimming pool and a tennis court.
  • Prince William first visited Anmer Hall as a child alongside his brother Prince Harry as King Charles' friend Hugh Van Custem Sr. resided there.
  • William and Kate have reportedly invested £1.5 million in renovating the grounds and interior, including making the kitchen the centre of the home and adding a "glass-lined garden room".
  •  Ben Pentreath masterminded the renovations having previously worked on Kensington Palace.​​​​​​​​

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