Inside Princess Kate’s secret recovery breaks at £4.7m 18-acre manor with a pool, tennis & games nights with Carole
FOLLOWING her chemotherapy treatment last year, Princess Kate has confirmed she is now in remission.
When she wasn’t resting in Windsor, the Princess of Wales, 43, is said to have spent some of her recovery last year at parents Carole and Michael Middleton’s £4.2million countryside pad.
Bucklebury Manor is located in Berkshire, which is around a 45 minute drive from Kate’s home with Prince William, Adelaide Cottage, so was handy for the royal mum-of-three.
Royal expert Ingrid Seward told Fabulous: “The Middleton house is gorgeous.
“I think it is an old manor house. It’s got a lot of grounds. I think it’s got its own stream going through it.
“Tennis courts, I mean, typically Middleton. They’ve made it absolutely gorgeous.
“Bucklebury is a really, really pretty place to be.
“It’s got great avenues of oak trees, so yes, I can imagine that Kate would have a great time there, and she’s got her mum to look after her as well.”
Carole and Michael bought Bucklebury Manor in 2012 and it has a number of impressive features.
Perfect for Kate’s recovery, the grade-II listed Georgian property boasts seven bedrooms, five reception rooms – including a drawing room and library – and 18 acres of land complete with a tennis court and outdoor swimming pool.
Ingrid added: “The Middletons are very, a very tight knit family, and they all seem to support each other, which is how Kate was brought up, which is probably why she’s so stable and able to deal with whatever life throws at her, and I think they all get together, and they play games like a very old fashioned family they’ve got.
“They play tennis. They swim.
“They’re very, very sporty, but of course Kate wouldn’t have been able to be very sporty, so I think she just would have played a lot of sort of family games and been in the bosom of the family, and I think we saw a bit of it in the video that Kate and William put out last summer.
“I think that is very much Kate’s home life which she’s, you know, tried to recreate in her own life.”
It was reported Kate also popped home to Bucklebury Manor when she was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (extreme pregnancy sickness).
With such a beautiful home, it would understandably be hard to pick a favourite feature, but Carole revealed that their kitchen is a focal feature.
In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Kate’s mum said: “It’s a kitchen/dining/sitting room and it’s the heart of the house. I love a kitchen supper.
“Where I have a small number of guests. I’ll cook something delicious and make it look lovely, then we’ll finish with a kitchen disco.”
The Princess of Wales revealed she is now in remission during a solo trip to Royal Marsden Hospital in which she thanked staff for her “exceptional” care.
She said: “I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year.
“My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside William and me as we have navigated everything. We couldn’t have asked for more.
“The care and advice we have received throughout my time as a patient has been exceptional.
Princess Kate's parent's humble beginnings
MICHAEL and Carole do not have any type of royal title, despite Michael being descended from the landed gentry.
Carole had a modest upbringing, being born and raised in a council flat in Southall, London and was the daughter of a sales assistant and a builder-decorator.
The couple met while they were working for British Airways as ground crew.
In 1987 the Middletons launched their own business, Party Pieces, after Carole realised she could make some money from creating party bags.
After growing the firm into a multi-million-pound business, Party Pieces was badly hit by Covid restrictions and in April 2023, the company called in advisers at restructuring firm Interpath to try to raise fresh funds for the business.
However, the family decided to move on from the company and in May 2023 the business sold in a pre-package deal to the Essex-based entrepreneur James Sinclair.
“It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery. As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal.
“I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead. There is much to look forward to. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.”
Kate revealed last March in an emotional video statement that she had cancer – just weeks after the King shared his diagnosis.
This month, The Sun revealed Kate planned a “gradual return” to front-line duties with royal fans warned not to expect the same “volume of work” as before her health crisis.