Planning permission is a fundamental part of building and, under normal circumstances, building plans are supposed to be public so that anyone affected can object or ask questions. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge already have a small cottage in Kensington Palace but will be moving into a family-sized one next year. Yesterday , “The Daily Mail” reported that their plans, including details of security cameras and measures taken, are going on public display as usual.
Those involved in the Royals' security are understandably angry. Buckingham Palace had requested that the plans be kept secret, but the request was denied. According to a former police protection officer, this is simply a bad idea. It's not just the regular attackers that are the problem, he said, it was the “fans” --“fixated persons,” was how Dai Davies put it in an interview with “The Evening Standard.” (Story continues below.)
To get a copy of the plans, members of the public must meet with officials from the Council of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and must provide identification. They cannot make any copies, will be supervised, and the information is not going to be online. But, given that the Metropolitan Police maintain a list of those with an “unhealthy” interest in the Royals, this simply may not be enough to protect the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in their new Kensington Palace home.
Sources: The Daily Mail; London Evening Standard; Council of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
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Get British Royal Family news by subscribing to this column or using the RSS feed. Linda Gentile is the British Royal Family Examinerand you can also follow on Twitterand Facebook. And, for yet more British life and culture, check out Linda's British Lifecolumn.
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