Prince William and Kate Middleton’s life-changing decision for royal children - 'It's surprised everyone'

A four-bedroom cottage in the Home Counties might seem like a rather unlikely choice for a future monarch and his wife, but Adelaide Cottage – the Prince and Princess of Wales’ primary residence – fits the bill perfectly. The two-storey house, in the grounds of 655-acre Windsor Home Park and just a 10-minute walk from Windsor Castle, has been their main home since they moved out of their palatial apartment, 1A Kensington Palace, in 2022. Although fairly modest by royal standards, for William and Kate, both 42, it has proven to be the perfect place in which to raise their three children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

“They are very, very happy there. Being able to live in the middle of Windsor Home Park, where they’re not overlooked and can come and go in complete privacy, makes the downsize from Kensington Palace worth it on every level,” says royal author Katie Nicholl. “There’s not a huge amount of space, but Adelaide Cottage ticks all the right boxes.”

The couple are believed to have moved there in the hope of giving their children as normal an upbringing as possible, away from the prying eyes of Kensington Palace’s 400,000 annual visitors. They also wanted to be closer to William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who sadly passed away just weeks after they moved.

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Despite having a mere four bedrooms (nearby Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew’s home, has seven), the cottage provides ample space for the family as they have no live-in staff, with aides instead commuting to the property daily. “I think they surprised a lot of people when they moved there,” says royal expert Duncan Larcombe.

“There are plenty of other places they could have moved to, but Adelaide Cottage fits with their desire as parents to be a normal family, where there aren’t servants and they don’t have 30 rooms. William would much rather have his kids around him, in the rooms next door to where he’s sleeping.”

The cottage, with its distinctive pale pink exterior walls, is surrounded by mature trees and offers much-needed privacy, with well-manicured gardens fenced off by immaculately trimmed hedges. This year, it has provided Kate with a tranquil, secluded retreat in which to convalesce during her cancer treatment.

“Kate’s been able to go out for walks and enjoy the fresh air, rather than be cooped up in some draughty old palace in London,” says Duncan. “She’s happy there, with her family around her.”

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Another considerable perk is the fact that the cottage is only a 15-minute drive from Lambrook, the children’s school, and less than an hour’s drive from the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire. “The proximity to the school and the proximity to Kate’s parents makes it absolutely ideal,” says Duncan. “The kids spend a lot of time with their grandparents, and when William and Kate are both working, the Middletons can step in. That’s a huge advantage for any young family.”

Built in 1831, the cottage was named in honour of King William IV’s wife, Queen Adelaide, who used it as a summer house. It is a cottage orné – meaning “decorated cottage” in French – and boasts some interesting architectural features, including a pair of chimneys with stepped bases at the south entrance, as well as a porte-cochère – a canopied entrance which provides shelter from the elements. There is also a striking veranda on the east side.

In October 2022, shortly after their move, Kate gave royal fans their first glimpse of Adelaide’s interior when she released a short video to highlight Addiction Awareness Week. The clip, part of which was filmed in the family’s living room, showed a simple cream sofa decorated with pink, white and red cushions, with framed family photographs and houseplants visible in the background.

The couple’s congratulatory video message to Team GB following the Paris 2024 Olympics was also believed to have been filmed at the property – this time in the garden – against a backdrop of pretty roses and greenery.

Despite Kate and William appearing perfectly happy at Adelaide, it was initially believed that nearby Royal Lodge, home to Prince Andrew for the past 20 years, had been earmarked for the couple. With around 30 rooms, the sprawling mansion is considerably larger than Adelaide Cottage and costs a reported £400,000 a year to maintain. But earlier this year it was claimed that the Duke, whose ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, lives in a separate wing of the lodge, had refused to move out and into nearby Frogmore Cottage – once home to Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle.

Not that Kate or William seem to mind. Adelaide has long been a hit with senior royals and Queen Victoria, who spent the majority of her reign at neighbouring Windsor Castle, would often take breakfast or afternoon tea there. Her beloved King Charles spaniel, Dash, is still buried within the grounds, a special plaque honouring his memory.

Before Kate and William moved in, the property was home to Simon Rhodes, the son of Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Margaret Rhodes, and also to Sir Hugh Roberts, former director of the Royal Collection.

But its most celebrated – and controversial – resident was Princess Margaret’s lover, Royal Air Force Group Captain Peter Townsend, who lived there with his wife, Rosemary, and their children during the 1940s. The couple divorced in 1952 and a year later Townsend proposed to the then 22-year-old Princess Margaret. But, following the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, the Queen refused to grant her sister permission to marry, on the grounds that the war hero was a divorcee.

Townsend, an equerry to King George VI, was not a fan of his grace and favour lodgings, once referring to Adelaide Cottage as an “icebox” due to the fact it had only two radiators. Worse still, electricity was delivered via cables from Windsor Castle, meaning the current was always weak. One critic declared that the interior, with its Victorian wallpaper and heavy furniture, was “pokey and unattractive”.

Luckily for William and Kate, the Grade II-listed building – where the master bedroom ceiling features gilt dolphins and a rope-style decoration taken from the 19th-Century Royal George yacht – underwent a major refurbishment in 2015, meaning the couple didn’t have to overhaul the interior before moving in.

“It’s cosy, it’s not too vast and it feels like home,” says Katie. “It’s perfect for raising a young family – and raising them the way Kate and William do, with a nod to their royal status, but a far greater nod to them being brought up in as ordinary and as normal a way as possible.”