What you need to know
Prince William may be a future king, but even he must abide by local rules.
The 43-year-old Prince of Wales recently made headlines for cruising around Windsor Castle and the surrounding area on an electric scooter. But with his family recently moving to Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, he will need to find a new means of transportation.
According to the Windsor Great Park website, other motorized transportation such as electric scooters and hoverboards are prohibited there.
“For safety and traffic management reasons, motorized vehicles are not permitted within the park. With the exception of cyclists, the road is reserved for residents and estate staff,” the website states.
Prince William, Duchess Kate and their three children moved from Adelaide Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where electric scooters are allowed. The heir to the throne has used the bike to travel to the castle for meetings and other gatherings there, including filming Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveler starring Eugene Levy.
The Schitt’s Creek actor marveled at royal transportation in an episode that aired in October.
“This is not what I expected,” Levy said with a laugh as Prince William appeared on an electric scooter. “Is this your mode of transportation?”
“It’s around here,” the royal replied with a laugh, adding: “It’s going really well around here.”
Prince William also explained: “We live just outside the castle and my father spends a lot of time here. We use the castle for work and meetings. And I’m always late so I thought this was a way to keep meetings on time.”
Ian Gavan/Apple TV+
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ family moved into Forest Lodge in the autumn.
Prince William and Duchess Kate moved their headquarters from Kensington Palace in London to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor three years ago. I wanted to try out a new place to see if it would work for my family. Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, have started attending nearby Lambrook School, and the location allows the royal couple to balance parenting and royal duties.
At last year’s Irish Guards St. Patrick’s Day parade, Duchess Kate told soldiers: “We’re in Windsor now. We were in London, but we moved there for more green space. It’s close enough to London and it’s not too far.”
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Adelaide Cottage became associated with some of the most difficult periods of Prince William and Duchess Kate’s lives shortly after they moved in in 2022. The house was the setting for Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, and later for Harry and Meghan’s shocking documentary series and Harry’s memoir Spare, published in 2023.
The following year brought even more challenges. King Charles announced his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, and Duchess Kate shared the cancer news in March.
“Adelaide Cottage has been a place of pain, suffering and sadness, and it’s understandable that they would want a new place after such a difficult time,” royal biographer Sally Bedell-Smith of Royals Extra Substack tells PEOPLE.
Forest Lodge is said to be the family’s forever home, with Prince William planning to stay there one day when he ascends to the throne.
