William And Kate Make Royal Move — See Why Princess Diana Would Be Proud

It looks like William and Kate are making a royal move, from their beautiful countryside estate back to London’s Kensington palace, where they will live full-time, the Daily Mail reports.

William and Kate, along with their two children, will be taking up residence in Apartment 1A, their stunningly beautiful 20-room apartment located at Kensington Palace. The apartment was lavishly redone in just 2011, with a breathtaking budget of £4.5 million. It’s also where William and Kate — along with an adorable Prince George in a bathrobe — entertained President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

But it’s what William and Kate, along with brother Harry — who have become affectionately known as “the trio” — plan to do with Apartment 8, which was Princess Diana’s residence, that is special.

A spokesman for the couple just confirmed that Princess Diana’s former residence in Kensington Palace is going to be used as work space for William, Kate and Harry’s “official responsibilities and charitable work.”

Considering how much of her life Princess Diana devoted to charity work, seeing her sons carry on the tradition, and honoring her by converting her former residence into the hub of their charitable activities, would surely make her proud.

A two-year renovation was also recently completed on the space. According to one senior aide, the finishing touches to the rooms in Kensington Palace were completed “some months ago.” The walls in the rooms of Apartment 8 are covered with a stunningly impressive collection of paintings on loan from the Queen’s own private collection and, until this recent decision, housed the Royal Drawing School.

“It makes total sense,” says Royal author Ingrid Seward, explaining that the space and layout of Apartment 8 make it ideal for what Kate and William have in mind. “They have two lovely new reception rooms which are great spaces for them to have meetings and officially entertain. One of the rooms was the drawing room, which overlooks the rose garden and outside courtyard and was at one time connected to the dining room. The other room was a TV and sitting room.”

Seward also states that there is, of course, special meaning behind the selection of Apartment 8 as a hub for their charity work, for both William and Harry.

“You can understand why the boys wanted to take the rooms on. I imagine it’s a way of them keeping Diana’s memory alive.”

Certainly the recent acquisition of Apartment 8, the apartment where Princess Diana raised her two sons until her early, tragic death, in order to further their charitable work, indicates that Prince William and Kate will make London their permanent home, just as Prince Charles and Princess Diana before them.

Furthermore, Kate and William’s decision to expand their court at Kensington Palace means they will also have more room to house the increased staffing that will be necessary as the prince increases his official duties.

The Queen, who has passed her 90th birthday, has already begun to turn over some of her charities over to William, indicating that it may be time for the younger royal generation to take over. William also now directly assists his grandmother with carrying out investitures, as well as undertaking overseas trips on her behalf.

Another signal that William has increased his official duties happened earlier this month, when William was sworn into the Privy Council, the Queen’s most senior advisory board.

William and Kate have spent three years of peace and solitude at Anmer Hall, located on Sandringham Estate. The gorgeous, 10-bedroom home was a splendid wedding gift from William’s grandmother, the Queen, as has been their residence since the birth of George in 2013. Little sister Princess Charlotte was born in St. Mary’s Hospital in London, but the family returned to their beloved home just four days after her birth.

The affection Will and Kate have for Anmer Hall, as well as the royal couple’s desire to try and raise their young Prince and Princess in privacy, away from the limelight as much as possible, have prompted sources to say that the move, although logical, is somewhat reluctant, as well. William has already signaled that he plans to step down from his duties as an air ambulance pilot next spring, and Prince George, who currently attends a Montessori nursery near Anmer Hall three days a week, is expected to attend a private pre-prep school in London. It’s rumored that Prince William and Kate have already put his name on the list for the £19,620-a-year Wetherby pre-prep school in Kensington.

It’s hard to imagine that Prince George wouldn’t be accepted.

For a look at gorgeous Anmer Hall, the home the royal couple is leaving behind, click here.

[Photo by Handout/Getty Entertainment Images]