Prince William and Kate Middleton’s surprising amount of stamp duty on Forest Lodge revealed

The Prince and Princess of Wales have moved into their “forever home” – but it hasn’t come cheap. 

Prince William, 43, and Kate, 44, alongside their three children, relocated from Adelaide Cottage to eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park in the autumn last year. 

The royal couple has secured a 20-year lease on the property and intends to live there until at least 2045 as a “private family home”. 

And according to The Telegraph, they paid an estimated £42,000 in stamp duty – a sum that usually incurs on the purchase of a property, rather than a rental – before making their big move. 

It is a tax that is levied on property or land purchases in England or Northern Ireland. In rare cases, stamp duty can also apply to expensive or long-term rentals. 

The Prince of Wales paid the sum on 21 July last year, according to the paper – the same day that the lease was signed. The couple is also paying £307,200 in rent for the property, using their private income.

William and Kate’s beloved new home

Forest Lodge is said to have been a “fresh start” for William and Kate following a difficult couple of years, including her cancer diagnosis in 2024. 

Kate is now in remission, but William later called it the “hardest year” of his life. 

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Now, the couple is said to enjoy “relatively simple” and “low-key” weekends with their family at their home. 

They often indulge in a spot of TV – Kate likes watching MasterChef, William likes sports, and they both like The Traitors. 

Otherwise, they will provide a “taxi service” for Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, to parties and matches. 

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In 2001, Forest Lodge underwent £1.5million ($2million) of restoration work to retain the period detail. 

How much do other royal family members pay in rent?

Though William and Kate are paying a significant sum in annual rent, some members of the royal family have secured “peppercorn” rent agreements for their properties. 

This is a symbolic amount of rent paid to the Crown Estate in exchange for the property, but it is usually very small. 

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Several royals, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when he was living at Royal Lodge and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with their Bagshot Park residence, have benefitted from these arrangements. 

Edward initially leased the property for 50 years for £5,000 a year in March 1998. The sum later went up to £90,000 a year – described by the National Audit Office as “market value” – after renovations took place. 

Andrew paid a “peppercorn” sum on Royal Lodge for nearly 20 years before he was exiled to Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate.