The Duke and Duchess of Kent's Oxford connections

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In January 1972,  the Duke and Duchess of Kent moved into York House, which would remain their London residence for more than two decades.  At the time of the move, the newspaper reports noted that the Kents did not plan to leave Coppins, their home in Iver, Buckinghamshire.  But only two months later, the news broke that the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their three children would not be returning to the much-beloved home.  

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Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Kent's first cousin, offered Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate as a weekend/country home in place of Coppins.

Coppins was put up for sale in May 1972 and sold for about £400,000.  Since then, the estate has changed owners several times.

 The reason for the sale of the estate, which the Duke of Kent had inherited from his late aunt, Princess Victoria, was financial.  The Kents were unable to maintain the increasing costs of running Coppins.

The Duke and Duchess remained at Anmer Hall until 1990, when they moved into Crocker End House in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, which they purchased in late 1989.

With their children leaving the nest and increasing financial problems,  the Kents put Crocker End House up for sale in mid-1996.   The Duchess had lost money in Lloyd's scandal, as she had invested in the Gooda Walker syndicate.  Family jewels were also sold.

The Kents also moved out of York House and into Wren Cottage on the Kensington Palace estate.  They also purchased a small three-bedroom 18th-century cottage, Old Forge, in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire.   The cost was £540,000.

Lady Pamela Hicks lives in Brightwell Baldwin.

The Old Forge was purchased in 2002, not long after the Duchess bought a studio flat in Notting Hill, West London, which she planned to use to teach piano.  

Then Duke and Duchess of Kent submitted an application to the local planning authorities to build a two-story addition and to make alterations to the cottage.   The application was made in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Kent of Wren House, Palace Green, London.

[UPDATE.  The Duke and Duchess of Kent sold Old Forge in February 2017 for £1,075,000.]