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Has Princess Kate moved in with her mum?

The family home has been revealed as the Princess of Wales' secret retreat.
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It’s a year this week since the Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic to undergo abdominal surgery.

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Twelve months on, and following the subsequent revelation that Kate had cancer, New Idea can exclusively share a revealing insight into her recovery process.

kate middleton holding flowers
Princess Catherine at Christmas 2024 (Credit: Getty)

With everything that Kate has had going on in the past year, we hear she’s been hunkering down with her parents at their home, Bucklebury Manor, as much as she can.

Michael, 75, and Carole Middelton’s well-concealed home in West Berkshire is less than an hour drive from Adelaide Cottage, the Wales family’s main residence, in Windsor. 

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“Carole was chief nurse as Kate went through chemotherapy, and Michael has been helping take care of the kids,” says a source.

“It also meant Kate could recuperate away from the royal residences. They can be a fishbowl at the best of times, let alone when you’re going through something so intensely personal.”

Mike and Carole Middleton's home Bucklebury Manor
Kate is spending time at her parents’ Berkshire home Bucklebury Manor. (Credit: Shutterstock)

It’s not the first time Kate, who celebrated her 43rd birthday on January 9, has retreated to ‘Middleton Manor’– as the locals call it.

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When she was suffering from severe morning sickness during her first pregnancy with Prince George, now 11, Kate left the palace for an extended period so that Carole, 69, could take care of her.

“When you’re ill, the place you feel most comfortable is at home with your mum isn’t it?” a source told People magazine at the time.

Carole and Kate Middleton
Kate and her mum Carole have always shared a close bond. (Credit: Getty)

Now that she is a mum of three herself – her younger children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are nine and six respectively – and is also the future Queen of England, it makes perfect sense that Kate would want to deal with her cancer diagnosis and treatment in the sanctuary of her family home.

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Our source adds: “Middleton Manor is extremely private, off a country lane and behind high walls. So Kate and the kids have been making the most of precious time alone there, with Carole and Michael on hand to wait on Kate during her treatment.”

Princes Kate, Charlotte and Kate's  father Michael Middleton
Kate and her three children are very close to Mike and Carole Middleton. (Credit: Instagram)

New Idea understands that Kate’s husband, the Prince of Wales, is on board with the unorthodox arrangement.

After calling 2024 the “hardest year of his life”, Prince William, 42, just wants whatever is best for his wife.

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“Having Kate and the kids move in with her parents also provides William with some respite,” our source says. “He’s found it difficult to juggle his first years as the Prince of Wales – and all the expectation and duty that comes with that role –as well as an unwell wife and three rambunctious kids.

“William is extremely grateful to Carole and Mike for helping out.”

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