Vacation Villiage In The Berkshires

Experts guess where royal couple will live

LONDON -- Friday, a long-running fairy tale finally culminates at Westminster Abbey: a handsome young prince will marry a beautiful young commoner amid massive jubilation, and then, presumably, they will live happily ever after.

But where, exactly?

As the world pauses for a few hours to feast on this morsel of rare, unadulterated good news before returning to reality, a question persists: Where will Prince William and Kate Middleton make their home after they are married?

Would it be a chic private flat in Belgravia, a district in central London? No, scratch that: too many security hassles.

The Castle of Mey, the late Queen Mother's windswept vacation home in northern Scotland? Too far from London, where all the young couple's friends are.

A big "pile" -- upper-class slang for a large family estate -- with boxwood hedges, formal rose gardens, and a helicopter pad? Possibly, because Prince William is a helicopter pilot, but that might seem profligate in this day of a newly cost-conscious monarchy.

What about ample space for horses? Not necessarily: Ms. Middleton is said to be allergic to them, and Prince William, while a fan of hunting, is by no means the polo fanatic his father is.

In the short run, the answer is well-known: the couple will live at a secluded, whitewashed farmhouse on the island of Anglesey in Wales, where the prince works as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot. They're said to be determined to give their marriage a good start by living as normal and private an existence as possible -- the tranquil kind of life Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip knew when they were newlyweds on the island of Malta, where he was stationed with the Royal Navy, a time the Queen once described as the happiest of her life.

The young couple has actually already taken up residence in Anglesey, and when Ms. Middleton is not at the farmhouse (rent: $1,200 a month), she'll make frequent visits to her own family in Bucklebury, in Berkshire.

But once Prince William's three-year service is up -- and he is rumored to be angling for a longer stint in the military -- the couple would move to London, where they'll have access to an apartment in Clarence House, a pale pink 19th-century mansion that shares a garden with St. James' Palace and serves as residence and office for the Prince of Wales and his two sons.

On the other hand, "I think they could opt for Kensington Palace, where the Queen Mother lived," said Charlie Ellingworth, marketing director of London's Property Vision, which advises buyers and renters of prime residential properties.

Vacation Village in the Berkshires - RCI - Timeshare Exchanges

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