William and Kate: Bid to change couple's rumoured future home

Anmer Hall is two miles from the Queen's residence at Sandringham House

Royal officials have applied to make changes to a Norfolk mansion rumoured to be the future home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The planning application for Anmer Hall, on the Queen's Sandringham Estate, has been handed to King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council.

It follows speculation that the Queen will give the Grade II-listed home to Prince William and Catherine.

A decision on the plans is expected in March.

The council, which covers the monarch's Norfolk retreat, is being asked to approve the rerouting of the existing driveway and an extension of the garage block to form what is described as an equipment room.

Catherine and William were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011

The application also includes the conversion of wood stores at Anmer Hall to accommodation and the construction of a new garden room.

Council officials said full details of the plans might not be made public in the normal way for security reasons.

Anmer Hall has been part of the Royal Estate since 1898 and is a short drive from Sandringham House.

The late Georgian country house was home to the Duke and Duchess of Kent between 1972 and 1990.

It is thought the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could use the Norfolk mansion house as a country retreat, as they prepare for the arrival of their first child.

The couple's main residence is expected to be an apartment in Kensington Palace.

Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the claims.