After an extraordinarily turbulent few years — marked by cancer diagnoses within the Royal Family, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and intense public scrutiny — Prince William and Princess Kate made the decision to relocate to Forest Lodge, a £16 million property nestled within the sprawling Windsor Great Park estate.

For the royal couple, it was a promise of privacy.
For some locals, it felt like something was taken away.

“We Only Had Days Before It Was Gone”

In September, residents say they were blindsided by sudden changes. Miles of fencing began appearing. “No public entry” signs were installed. CCTV cameras went up. Trenches were dug. A heavy police presence followed.

Then came the email.

Access via Cranbourne Gate would permanently close. The car park would shut. Large sections of previously accessible land — reportedly around 150 acres — would fall within a new security exclusion zone.

Anyone entering the designated area could face arrest under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act.

For long-time park users, the shift felt abrupt and deeply personal.

Tina, a Windsor resident who has walked the park for 15 years, says the reality is far more significant than many headlines suggest.

“People think it’s just a small two-mile radius,” she explains. “But thousands of acres are effectively impacted. For many of us, this was our daily life.”

“It’s Like Losing Your Back Garden”

Windsor Great Park is partly public and partly private. More than half is already restricted — making the remaining public areas, locals argue, incredibly precious.

Tina used to train her energetic Golden Cocker Retriever off-lead in open oak-dotted fields near Cranbourne Gate. Now, she says, walkers are being funneled into already crowded sections of the park.

“At weekends, it’s ridiculously overcrowded,” she says. “The open countryside made it easy to train my dog. Now we’re forced into dense woodland or busy areas.”

She recalls meeting another woman in the park just days before access ended.

“She told me she cried when she got the email.”

Others who held special access keys to nearby woodland — describing it as “like their back garden” — were also left devastated.

“I haven’t been back,” Tina admits. “Seeing it all fenced off with police signs… it hurts.”

More Than Just Walking Routes

The impact reportedly extends beyond dog walkers.

A children’s environmental education centre within the new exclusion zone has paused operations. Reports also suggest that two families living in nearby cottages were required to leave.

The Crown Estate has stated it is working with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust to find alternative arrangements for the education centre.

Meanwhile, park management says alternative parking remains available nearby — though some residents argue it is not a practical replacement.

“This Isn’t Their Back Garden”

A key frustration for locals, Tina says, is what she believes is a misunderstanding about ownership.

Windsor Great Park and Forest Lodge are owned by the Crown Estate — a public body whose revenues go to the UK Treasury — not the Royal Family personally.

“They’re supposed to manage it in the national interest,” she says. “This isn’t the royals’ private garden.”

Tina questions whether fencing off large swathes of public land for enhanced security serves the broader community.

“It’s like closing Regent’s Park and saying it doesn’t matter because Hyde Park is still open,” she argues.

However, supporters point out that William has long spoken about protecting his family’s privacy, referencing the lasting trauma caused by Princess Diana’s death.

“If you let that creep in, the damage it can do to your family life is something I vowed would never happen to my family,” William previously said.

Security vs. Community

According to the Crown Estate, the security boundary was introduced by the Home Office and Thames Valley Police and affects only a small portion of the park. Officials insist that the “vast majority” of public access remains unchanged.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly paying market rent for Forest Lodge, and renovations are not being funded through the Sovereign Grant.

Yet for residents like Tina, the emotional impact remains raw.

“I live here because of the park,” she says. “It’s a huge loss. The nature of the park is changing — it feels more commercialised, more restricted. And now we’re all squeezed into smaller spaces.”

She hopes that in the future, when William becomes King and has access to multiple royal properties, the land might once again reopen to the public.

“It’s just so sad,” she says quietly. “We want them to realise the consequences.”

Kensington Palace declined to comment. Reach plc has approached Windsor Great Park for further clarification.