Palace move poses Will Di-lemma

Prince William will be challenged to fulfil a dream to honour his late mother when he and the Duchess of Cambridge move into Princess Margaret’s old home at Kensington Palace.

It is to erect a statue of Princess Diana on the plinth currently occupied by his namesake, William III.

It is the focal point for visitors to the Palace and stands directly in front of Margaret’s apartment. Following Diana’s death, there was a demand to replace it with a likeness of the Princess.

Margaret vetoed it, saying: “I don’t want to see her staring at me every time I look out of the window.”

Now William has a chance to make good on that campaign. Having turned down the opportunity to return to his childhood home, he and Kate are taking on the far grander and vast apartment 1a, where Margaret lived until her death in 2002.

“When all the talk of a statue was going on in 1997, Margaret was firmly opposed and would tell people she had no wish to see Diana from the moment her curtains were drawn until they were closed again,” says a former aide of Margaret’s.

The four-floor apartment - the largest at Kensington Palace - includes the bedrooms where Viscount Linley and his sister Lady Sarah Chatto grew up, staff quarters as well as an eight-car garage. It also contains a ghost - a woman in a blue dress.

“It does seem extraordinary that they are taking on Margaret’s 20-room apartment, which will need quite a staff to run, when they have so far resisted having anything but the barest minimum of people to help them because they prefer to do everything themselves,” says one figure.

Meanwhile, former royal aides are sceptical of suggestions that the apartment can be renovated for £1 million. The rewiring alone is expected to run to six figures.

One thing they might want to spend money on before 2013, when they move in, is the clanking drain cover outside Margaret’s front door. “Whenever the Princess heard it she knew it was Diana driving in to use the back door because she didn’t want the police to see her bringing men friends home,” I am told. - Daily Mail