Royal Watch News

Prince William's country home

Jan 7, 2013, 12:02 GMT

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to be given a country house by Queen Elizabeth.

Prince William and Duchess Catherine - who are expecting their first child together - will be handed the keys to the stunning property, Anmer Hall, on the 86-year-old monarch's Sadringham estate in Norfolk, East Anglia, although not for another four years.

A source said: 'The house has been earmarked for William and Kate.'

Anmer Hall is currently leased by James Everett, the owner of the kitchen and timber company Norfolk Oak and his lease expires in March 2017, when William and Catherine's first child will be three years old.

William often visited the late-Georgian property - which is one and a half miles away from the queen's residence, Sandringham House - when it was leased by Hugh and Emilie van Cutsem, who are close friends of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The van Cutsems still live nearby and their sons, Hugh, Edward and William, are friends of William and Catherine.

The royal couple are set to move into an apartment in London's Kensington Palace later this year.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'We would not comment on private properties on the queen's private estates.'