Kate Middleton, Prince William Ensuring Kensington Palace Privacy By Doing This

It appears that Kate Middleton and Prince William are taking new precautions to maintain their privacy when at Kensington Palace.

According to Express UK, a new hedge that is approximately 900 feet long has been planted along the back side of the Kensington Palace grounds, and it is believed the hedge when fully grown, will prevent members of the public from seeing into the property. It will also keep views of Perks Field, where the royal helicopter departs and lands on a nearly daily basis, protected from view.

It’s reported that the hedging consists of 600 trees that have all been planted roughly 18 inches apart from the next and that it cost roughly £15,000.

It is the third such landscaping maneuver made at the property, which included planting a wall of conifers on the western boundary of the grounds in 2017, as well as another row of them along Billionaire’s Row.

A palace spokesman reportedly told Express that some privacy and security considerations were behind the new plantings.

The move to offer more privacy to their family, which includes their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, is something that Prince William has been noted for over the years, especially as he worked to protect his relationship with Middleton prior to their engagement and marriage.

Back in 2005, after photos of Middleton, who was a private citizen at the time, playing photos on Prince Charles’ private courts surfaced, the Queen had her lawyers step in to threaten legal action if the pictures were published. This prevented them from being used by the UK media, though they were seen in German publications.

More protections came in 2009 when a new privacy strategy was enacted that allowed the family to take legal action against photographers who were deemed as exhibiting “intrusive and unacceptable behavior.”

That move came after Middleton and Prince William were pursued by at seven photographers on motorbikes, scooters and in a car after they left a nightclub together in 2007. The incident was particularly jarring for the Royals at the time because it occurred around the 10-year anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, which happened after a car crash in Paris that was partially blamed on photographers who were chasing her.