Wills and Kate choose Princess Margaret’s former residence as their new home

A £1 million refit will begin
next year at Princess Margaret’s former apartment after the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge chose it as their new family home.

Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace
is a lavish, four storey home complete with its own walled garden and the
couple are expected to move in sometime in 2013 after the completion of the
refurbishment.

£1 million refurbishment project

William and Kate currently split
their time between their home in Anglesey and Nottingham Cottage, a small two
bedroom property in the grounds of Kensington Palace.

The £1 million refurb of
Apartment 1A will include redecoration, rewiring, installation of new plumbing
and the removal of asbestos.  It will
be funded by contributions from the Royal Family’s fortune as well as from
public grants.

A spokesman for the Palace said:
“The extent of the work needed to turn the apartment back into a home is not
yet known, but it is expected that it will not be ready for occupation until at
least the middle of 2013.”

Wills and Kate ‘loved’ the apartment

The Daily Mail reports that the accommodation includes a drawing room,
dining room, Lord Snowdon’s study, Princess Margaret’s garden room, extensive
staff quarters and a nursery.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: 
“William and Kate visited Apartment 1A and loved it.

“Kate particularly adored the
private walled garden because she loves gardening, and she just thought the
house has so much potential. She also liked the fact it was so close to
Kensington High Street.

“They had seen a state apartment
at St James’s Palace, which they also rather liked, but they both agreed they
wanted to live at Kensington Palace.”

A spokesman for Historic Royal
Palaces said they were ‘delighted that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have
chosen Kensington Palace as their permanent home’.