Prince William has opened up about why he and his wife Kate feel so “at home” in Sandringham, Norfolk. William was speaking in new BBC One documentary Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, which will air on Wednesday evening, when he revealed it was all down to his late grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
After his retirement in 2017, Philip, who passed away in April, spent the last years of his life at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate.
As the camera panned around the Queen’s beautiful rural estate, William praised his granddad for shaping Sandringham and making it what it is today. “Sandringham has always been a really, really important part of his life,” William said. “He was tasked with being the warden, managing the estate from 1952. I think for him, being up here, was an escape.
William added: “He likes the fact that he’s been able to have an impact here… He’s planted over 40 kilometres of hedge land, 45 woods, over two million trees. These things really matter to the makeup of the surrounding area.
“He doesn’t talk or waffle, he wants to get involved and do it himself and that’s what he’s done here. He’s really been heavily involved in shaping and deciding the future of the environment here.”
William then said: “For me, coming here and now living here, everything that he’s done has led up to Catherine and I feel that this is a part of the country we want to be in. We love this area, it feels like home, and that’s because of what he’s created.”
The Cambridges, along with their three young children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, spent much of lockdown in their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall. While the family have since returned to London for their royal duties and their children’s schooling, William and Kate do go back to Norfolk regularly with their kids, often spending the school holidays there.
The BBC documentary was filmed in early 2021 and was originally conceived as part of the Duke’s 100th birthday celebrations. It was altered after Philip’s sad death on 9 April, aged 99, and now features interviews with his family recorded before and after his passing.
All of the Queen and Philip’s children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – took part, as well as the couple’s adult grandchildren.
