Inside Adelaide Cottage, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Soon-To-Be Former Home

The quiet retreat on the Windsor Estate has played host to some of royals’ most significant private milestones, from the princess’s cancer diagnosis to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

If reports are to be believed, Prince William, Kate Middleton and their children may move to their new “forever home” in Windsor in a matter of weeks—leaving the cosy confines of Adelaide Cottage behind. The family are relocating to a larger property, Forest Lodge, a historic Georgian mansion in a private section of Windsor Great Park which will be their primary residence for decades to come, even when William becomes King.

Despite this exciting new venture, the couple and their children will, no doubt, be sad to say goodbye to Adelaide Cottage—which has played host to many important moments for them over the years.

Prince William and Kate Middleton previously raised their family in London, living at Apartment 1A in the grounds of Kensington Palace. At the time of their relocation to Adelaide Cottage in 2022, sources close to the couple told the Daily Mail that it was intended “to test a new location and see if it worked for them as a family.” It didn’t hurt, of course, that Windsor Great Park was just a short drive from Lambrook, where Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are currently all enrolled as pupils—and indeed, they soon settled into the candy pink cottage.

Originally built for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV, in 1831, the home has been used by a number of monarchs. Queen Victoria often visited the cottage for breakfast or tea, and her dog, Dash, is buried in the gardens. Peter Townsend, who famously had a love affair with Princess Margaret, was another of Adelaide Cottage’s more notable residents—the pilot moved in with his wife and family in 1945 and remained there for the best part of a decade, although he battled against the “limited amenities” of the property. Townsend described the cottage as an “ice box” in the winter, as it only had two radiators: “In the drawing-room, surrounded by French windows, it was sometimes necessary to wrap up in an overcoat and scarf,” Townsend wrote in his memoir, Time and Chance.

Since then, the house has undergone a few renovations which have made it a little more comfortable—and somewhat grander. It’s said that the works completed in 2015 included a few lavish, decorative features, including gilded dolphins and rope ornamentation on the ceiling of the master bedroom, and a Greco-Egyptian marble fireplace. The historical architecture and original porch of Adelaide Cottage were preserved, however, as were the manicured gardens surrounding the property, which have remained almost untouched for nearly 200 years.

William and Kate drop off their children at Lambrook School in September 2022

 Pool/Getty Images

When William and Kate relocated there four years ago, Adelaide Cottage was the perfect location for their growing family. “The move, which a Palace source said has been driven by their desire to have as normal a family life as possible, allows William and Kate the opportunity to offer their children a more rural upbringing away from central London and the hustle and bustle of Kensington Palace,” Town & Country royal reporter Victoria Murphy wrote at the time.

Indeed, it has been made apparent ever since that the Prince and Princess of Wales are determined to raise their children in as normal a way as possible, given their circumstances. Setting the table, cooking dinners, and doing the dishes might be the kind of mundane chores that would have been unimaginable for royal heirs in days gone by, but at Adelaide Cottage, William and Kate have done away with private chefs and live-in nannies to maintain some semblance of normalcy for their very unique young family.

The family will soon be moving to Forest Lodge, pictured in 2018, a much larger property on the Windsor Estate

 Heritage Images/Getty Images

“The couple did not seek to boost the staff numbers at Adelaide Cottage, not least because there would be little room to do so,” royal expert Robert Hardman revealed in his 2024 book, Charles III: New King, New Court, adding that there was “certainly no butler—it’s very much them at home with the kids.” In the past, Kate has let slip that she likes to do the cooking herself, making curries for the family and cakes for her children on their birthdays. “I love making the cake,” the princess told Mary Berry on A Berry Royal Christmas in 2019. “It’s become a bit of a tradition that I stay up ’til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing, and I make far too much. But I love it.”

Although the family have enjoyed many happy times in their modest, four-bedroom home, Adelaide Cottage has been the site of some upheaval over the last few years, from Kate’s diagnosis with cancer to the death of Queen Elizabeth. “Windsor has become their home,’ an insider revealed to the BBC earlier this year. “However, over the last few years, while they have lived at Adelaide Cottage, there have been some really difficult times. Moving gives them an opportunity for a fresh start and a new chapter; an opportunity to leave some of the more unhappy memories behind.”

The family will no doubt be hoping to enjoy a sunnier spell at Forest Lodge when they move—but with Adelaide Cottage just a few miles down the road, the Waleses will be keen to keep the happier memories made at their former home alive.