Plan to renovate cottage on Royals' Windsor estate

A plan to renovate a cottage on the Royal estate in Windsor and use it as a home has been submitted for approval.

The Royal Dairy Cottage, in the Home Park, is Grade II* listed and is thought to date back to the 1830s or 1840s. It was refaced between the late 1850s and 1861 when Prince Albert commissioned the Royal Dairy next to it.

In an application to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, architects on behalf of the Royal Household Property Section (RHPS) said the cottage has been "unoccupied for a considerable amount of time".

It would be used as a four-bedroom house if planning permission is granted.

The cottage is a short walk from Frogmore House, which is used by the Royal family for private and public events, and Frogmore Cottage, previously used by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It is thought the cottage was previously used by the estate's dairy maid.

Its ground floor has most recently been used as a commercial unit and the first floor used as a residence.

Feilden+Mawson architects, for the RHPS, said it now needs a "full refurbishment throughout".

The dairy, which is linked to the cottage, was built under the direction of Prince Albert in 1848 and designed in a Renaissance style.

The BBC's Countryfile filmed the Royal Dairy for the first time for a show in 2018 to mark the 65th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and 30 years of the programme.