ROYAL RESIDENCE
Inside Wills & Kate’s ‘normal’ life at pink Adelaide Cottage after security scare – including staff they refuse to have
Prince William has a very unique way of getting round Windsor Castle
WHEN we think of royal homes, we think of castles, towers, great halls and drawbridges.
But the reality for the Wales’ is far from that. In fact, Prince William and Princess Kate live in a modest four-bedroom home that’s even painted PINK on the outside.
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Named Adelaide Cottage, the young royals moved into pad in September 2022 to be near Windsor Castle and their children's school.
There, they raise their brood: George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Louis.
Charming couldn't be further from Wills and Kate’s 20-room, four-storey apartment in Kensington, which they still use when they need to be in London.
Sources said the couple dreamt of having a "modest" home with a garden so the children could play outside together.
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It hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, though.
The young royal family were recently raided by masked men while they slept unknowingly.
Two men scaled a 6ft fence at night and snuck on the Windsor Castle estate to steal a pick-up and quad bike that were stored in a barn just five minutes from Adelaide Cottage.
The raiders struck at Shaw Farm, a working farm inside the castle’s security zone, and used a stolen truck to smash their way through a security gate at the royal estate.
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Wills and Kate, both 42, and their children were believed to be sleeping peacefully at the time.
The young royals quietly moved to the Cottage in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022.
Prince William opens up about his horrible year, and who cried when he grew a beard
Royal expert Robert Jobson foretold that it was “the start of a new era for William” and his family.
Two years on, it seems his predictions were right.
In pursuit of living a “normal” life, the Wales’ have ditched a key member of staff in their new home, host weeknight family dinners like us ordinary folk and much more…
No Butler Zone
Kate and William's move to Adelaide Cottage in 2022 led to them cutting down on staff, according to royal biographer Robert Hardman.
The Wales’ no longer have a full-time butler at home and instead choose to be “very much them at home with the kids”.
Robert made the staffing revelation in his new book New King, New Court, and detailed the reasons why the younger royals have ruled out employing round-the-clock help.
“The couple did not seek to boost the staff numbers at Adelaide Cottage, not least because there would be little room to do so," he penned.
Inside Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship - in their words
AFTER years of dating, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement on November 16, 2010.
Prince William revealed in their interview with BBC that he knew from the start that Kate was different from other people.
He said in their engagement interview: "From my point of view, when I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her.”
When asked what drew them together, it turns out her “naughty sense of humour” was the tipping point.
He said: “She’s got a really naughty sense of humour, which really helps me because I’ve got a really dirty sense of humour so it was good fun, we had a really good laugh, and then things happened.”
And it appears that Prince William is a very caring partner towards Kate. Swoon.
She previously told Hello! how much of a gentleman William is, and said: "You know, over the years William has looked after me, he's treated me very well — as the loving boyfriend he is, he is very supportive of me through the good times and also through the bad times.”
In April 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony watched around the world by millions of fans.
Kate wore a spectacular Alexander McQueen dress and the smitten prince could be seen telling Kate: “You look beautiful” before the service began.
They may have an unconventional life, but when it comes to their relationship, it all boils down to having fun.
Prince William added: “Obviously we both have a very fun time together, both have a very good sense of humour about things, we're down to earth, we take the mickey out of each other a lot, and she's got plenty of habits that make me laugh that I tease her about."
Robert did explain that an alternative role currently exists at Prince William and Kate's other residence, Kensington Palace in London.
"The Kensington Palace team does include a ‘yeoman,’ a multi-tasking attendant who looks after everything from luggage to uniforms, but there is no 'gentleman's gentleman' on the staff," he wrote.
"And certainly no butler - it’s very much them at home with the kids.”
A breakdown of costs from the 2023-2024 year found that the wage bill for royal staff was £27.9 million. The cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the upkeep of a royal household was also revealed to have cost £2.6 million for the year.
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Kitchen Diaries
Princess Kate once revealed that she loves to host curry nights for her family-of-five.
She said that she would often try her hand at making South Asian versions of the dish at home.
That includes preparing one version for herself and William, and a second, cooler version for their three children.
But she added: "Charlotte is pretty good with heat."
Kate revealed the surprising fact about her only daughter while discussing her then-upcoming trip to Pakistan in October 2019.
Home Comforts
Comfort dishes were likely the family’s go-to dinner as part of Kate’s recovery during chemotherapy this year.
Kensington Palace announced in January 2024 that she had undergone a planned abdominal surgery for an undisclosed medical condition.
Then in March, following mammoth speculation on social media, Kate announced that post-operative tests had found cancer in her body.
The palace shared that the Princess had been undergoing chemotherapy since late February.
It was a special moment when the Princess of Wales arrived back from hospital. She had been in hospital for two weeks, which was ages for kids used to seeing their mum every day
Ingrid Seward
Upon medical advice, she recovered at home following a two-week hospital stint for her operation - and is said to have received a warm welcome upon her arrival.
According to one royal commentator, George, Charlotte and Louis surprised Kate with “cards and banners and little gifts” when she returned to Adelaide Cottage.
Ingrid Seward - editor in chief of Majesty Magazine - told Fabulous: “It was a special moment when the Princess of Wales arrived back from hospital.
“She had been in hospital for two weeks, which was ages for kids used to seeing their mum every day.
“They wanted to surprise her. And thanks to Kate’s endless patience in the past, are skilled at arts and crafts and cooking.”
Royal Whizzers
Last July, The Sun on Sunday exclusively revealed that Prince William had bagged himself a flashy e-scooter.
Fast forward 12 months to July this year, the Prince of Wale showed that he was a royal whizzer after being spotted darting around Windsor on his new wheels.
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The dad-of-three was filmed by a tourist riding the two-wheeler in the castle courtyard.
He uses the scooter to zip to the castle for meetings from nearby Adelaide Cottage.
A source said at the time: "It's becoming such a common sight at Windsor seeing William buzz around in the scooter that people barely raise an eyebrow now.
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"It's certainly the best and quickest way to get around for meetings and to see the King when he visits, and it is much more environmentally friendly than taking a car from Adelaide Cottage."
The 10mph machine is a change of pace for the heir to the throne, left, who took part in a charity motorbike ride across South Africa with brother Prince Harry in 2008.
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