Kate Middleton’s Neighbors Furious At ‘Eyesore’ — Prince William Takes In-Laws Caroling

Residents of the village of Bucklebury, Berkshire, where Kate Middleton grew up, have reacted uproariously to the unveiling of gate posts that were supposed to commemorate her Royal marriage to Prince William.

Instead, the village has reacted rather furiously to them. In fact, villagers are so angry at the unveiling of these posts that they’ve called for them to immediately be burnt to the ground.

According to the Telegraph, one irate neighbor labelled the posts, which measure in at 8 feet tall, an “eyesore,” while another insisted that they needed to be “ripped down and turned into firewood.” Another then decided to compare them to “totem poles.”

A third villager, who insisted that they remain unnamed, explained that the gate posts had caused a furious debate in the village. He added, “They should be ripped down and turned into firewood. That is what should probably be done, chop them down and burn them.”

They then, rather hyperbolically, continued, “Whatever next? Are they going to erect a toll station there and charge us to get into the village? ”

William Hartley Russell, who is the heir to the Bucklebury estate, commissioned the erection of these posts. You can check out an image of the sculptures that have been erected at the entrance to Bucklebury village, and has caused its inhabitants to react furiously, below.

I insure lots of #homes in #bucklebury and my clients like the acorn sculptures. do you? https://t.co/ZaxSfFp97v

— Carl Sharp (@CarlSharp_) December 2, 2015

The thing is, even though locals still regard Bucklebury, Berkshire, as Kate Middleton’s home, the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, have recently moved away from the village.

Hartley Russell tried to downplay the concerns surrounding these gate posts, declaring that, despite the uproar, they actually “enhance the area.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Hartley Russell explained, “First of all, they are gate posts and the estate had to ask for planning permission from the local authority and the parish council for them to be installed. That was a number of years ago and to my knowledge no one raised any objection to them at the time.”

Russell added, “I feel they are a fitting commemoration of the royal wedding in 2011. Until then the main thing we had done to commemorate the wedding was some mugs, and this felt like a more appropriate and permanent gesture. After all, it is not every day that you have a member of your community marry the heir to the throne.”

“I have seen and inspected them,” he concluded. “In my view they are smart, enhance the area and — this is the key point — I feel they are a fitting, suitable commemoration of the royal wedding. At no point did we set out to upset people with these posts. They were made by a local artist who is both talented and well respected. I am very pleased with them.”

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Prince William decided to take his in-laws, Pippa Middleton and Carole Middleton, carol singing to celebrate the launch of the festive season.

Pippa Middleton and Carole Middleton join Prince William for carol service https://t.co/1Jcb7Fajs3 pic.twitter.com/DVV8T26EXk

— Kate & Pippa Style (@MiddletonMaven) December 2, 2015

Prince William, 32-year-old Pippa Middleton, and 60-year-old Carole Middleton attended an event in Chelsea, London, to try and raise money for the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund. Kate Middleton, who attended the event by herself back in 2010, decided to stay at home alongside her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Unfortunately we’re still not too sure what songs William and his mother-in-law and sister-in-law sang.

Writing in the program for the event, which was created by Prince William and Prince Harry’s friend Tom van Straubenzee in memory of his brother, who died in a car crash in 2002, Prince William stated, via People, “We are both delighted to be patrons of Henry’s memorial fund.”

He continued, “Each year brings with it more news about the progress that this charity continues to make. This is largely down to the generosity and support of donors, many of whom are here tonight at this, the seventh Christmas carol service.”

[Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images]