Royal boundaries

William and Kate's new Windsor home means loss for locals

- Caroline Davies

For almost two decades Tina has enjoyed early morning walks through Windsor Great Park's ancient-oak studded open fields with the freedom to let her dog off the lead.

In recent weeks, however, she has noticed disturbing changes: fencing appearing around her regular route near Cranbourne Gate, trenches being dug, hedges planted and CCTV cameras erected.

Last week she saw three men carrying a “no public entry” sign. “So, I walked up to them and said: ‘Oh, are you going to close this area?’ And one guy sticks the sign behind his back, and said: ‘We’re just checking the size of the sign for somewhere else.”

The next day she had her answer. Windsor Great Park announced an exclusion zone of about 60 hectares (150 acres) of previously publicly accessible land to accommodate the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.