Prince William and Kate Middleton may have been given the green light to build the country house of their dreams. Royal officials were granted permission to carry out a series of renovations on Anmer Hall, a ten-bedroom property housed in the Queen's Sandringham estate. The house has been marked as a possible country retreat for the Duke of Cambridge and his pregnant Duchess. Changes approved all provide the house with greater privacy and security and include re-routing of the driveway, extensive tree planting to shield the property, and plans to expand accommodation, perhaps for the couple's protection officers.
Anmer Hall could well be the present the Queen gave to Prince William for his birthday last year. When the Duke turned 30, his grandmother gave him and his wife one of the cottages housed in her 20,000 acre estate in Norfolk. Sandringham includes 150 properties and it has not been confirmed which was gifted to the Duke and Duchess. Its centrepiece is an Edwardian mansion where the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh gather every Christmas with the rest of the royal family.
When the second-in-line turned 30 a friend said of his gift: "He (William) is a country boy and loves Norfolk, just like his father and his grandparents.
"It's a lovely, peaceful place and William adores it." Although Anmer Hall hasn't officially been confirmed as part of William and Kate's property portfolio, the couple's living situation will definitely change in 2013 when they upgrade to their dream home at Kensington Palace, which will be their London base. Once renovations have been completed, the royals and their baby will live in the splendour of Apartment 1A, the six-bedroom flat where Princess Margaret used to live, and make their family unit complete.