Where is Adelaide Cottage, how big is it and is Prince William and Kate Middleton’s home ever open to the public?

Adelaide Cottage isn’t quite as imposing as the iconic Buckingham Palace or as historic as Windsor Castle, but it’s an important royal residence nevertheless.

It might have been built centuries ago, but Adelaide Cottage has been the focus of renewed fascination in recent years since it became the family home of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in 2022. The property is one of several royal homes where the Waleses spend time, with their countryside home, Anmer Hall, also holding a special place in their hearts.

However, unlike many of the royal residences, Adelaide Cottage is kept very private and no photographs of the property as it is now exist. Whilst we might not know exactly what Adelaide Cottage looks like, here's what we know about Prince William and Kate’s home, including where it is, how big is it and if you can visit.

Where is Adelaide Cottage?

Adelaide Cottage is in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire and it’s located on the eastern side of the Windsor Castle grounds. The Prince and Princess of Wales’s beautiful home is more specifically located in Windsor Home Park, the private royal park that’s looked after by the Crown Estate, and it’s also close to St George’s Chapel where the Royal Family usually attend an Easter Sunday service each year together.

The Princess of Wales’s family also live in Berkshire and Carole and Michael Middleton’s home in Bucklebury is under an hour’s drive away from Adelaide Cottage, whilst Kate’s siblings Pippa and James also live in the same county with their families.

The Middletons’ Berkshire roots are something that appears to be important to them, as they were celebrated in the design of not only Kate's wedding earrings, but her family’s Coat of Arms too. Both feature acorns and according to the Royal Family website, the Coat of Arms included them "because the area in which the children [Kate, Pippa and James] were brought up, West Berkshire, England is surrounded by oak trees". The Princess of Wales’s wedding earrings had oak leaves and acorns, likely honouring the same thing.

Adelaide Cottage is also near to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis’s school, Lambrook, with plenty of outside space for the children to enjoy.

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A source previously claimed to The Times that the family reportedly felt a bit "confined" in London and apparently have a plan to remain in Windsor for many years enjoying the freedom being there brings them.

"The reality is they are quite confined in what they can do in London. The kids can’t go into the park and kick a football with friends. Their plan is to be there for the next ten to 15 years and then move to Anmer, which is so special to them," they alleged.

How far is Adelaide Cottage from Windsor Castle?

Prince William and Kate’s move to Adelaide Cottage not only brought them nearer to the Middletons’ family home, but meant they live conveniently just around 10 minutes’ walk from Windsor Castle. At the time of their move in the summer of 2022, the late Queen Elizabeth was living permanently at Windsor Castle and the close proximity of the two residences likely made it very easy for the family to pay her special visits.

Nowadays there’s no one who lives at Windsor Castle permanently, though King Charles occasionally uses it to host important occasions like the visit of US President Biden in 2023, or when he attends the Order of the Garter ceremony at St George’s Chapel, which Prince William is also present for. Prince William also often undertakes investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. With this in mind, living so close at Adelaide Cottage makes a lot of professional sense for the Prince of Wales to this day.

How big is Adelaide Cottage?

Adelaide Cottage isn’t nearly as big as many of the other residences that the Royal Family call home, from Bagshot Park where Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward live to King Charles and Queen Camilla’s London base, Clarence House. Prince William and Kate’s former home, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace was far more spacious with its reported 20 bedrooms, however Adelaide Cottage isn’t a tiny property like the term “cottage” might suggest.

The Grade II listed home supposedly has four bedrooms and offers plenty of room for Prince William, Kate and their children. However, it doesn’t have room for live-in-staff like Kensington Palace did and this means that Adelaide Cottage is a truly private family home for the Waleses. Because of this high level of privacy, it’s not clear exactly what the interiors of Prince William and Kate’s residence look like, though reports have suggested that the main bedroom is “generously sized” with some magnificent details.

According to the Daily Mail, there are gilded dolphins and rope decoration on the coved ceiling of the master bedroom, which is said to have been recycled from an 19th century royal yacht. Adelaide Cottage is even believed to have a marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace, adding another sumptuous and historic aspect to the décor.

Who owns Adelaide Cottage? 

It’s understood that Adelaide Cottage is a grace-and-favour property, meaning that it likely belongs to King Charles because of his position as monarch and used to belong to Queen Elizabeth for the same reason. Ultimately, though, Adelaide Cottage isn’t privately owned like some properties in the royal portfolio, like Sandringham House in Norfolk.

The monarch is believed to have the power to lease Adelaide Cottage to other people, either as part of an employment package or due to gratitude for services to them. Because of this, although the Prince and Princess of Wales live at the cottage and lease it, they are not its owners. They aren’t the only members of the Royal Family not to personally own their home, as Duchess Sophie and Prince Edward lease Bagshot Park in Surrey.

When was Adelaide Cottage built and who lived there before?

Just like so many other royal residences, Adelaide Cottage has a rich history. It was built in 1831 and was commissioned by King William IV for his wife Queen Adelaide, whom the cottage was named after. Since the days when they would enjoy relaxing day trips there, Queen Victoria also reportedly often visited this peaceful cottage which was apparently once called Adelaide Lodge.

According to the Royal Collection Trust, it was built by architect and garden designer Jeffry Wyatville and incorporated building material from the nearby Royal Lodge too. Today the property is said to be a Grade II-listed building which means that it’s considered to have great historical or architectural significance and is accordingly protected by the law.

This royal home is also near to Prince George, Charlotte and Louis’s school, Lambrook, with plenty of outside space for the children to enjoy. A source previously claimed to The Times that the family reportedly felt a bit “confined” in London and apparently have a plan to remain in Windsor for many years enjoying the freedom being there brings them.

"The reality is they are quite confined in what they can do in London. The kids can’t go into the park and kick a football with friends. Their plan is to be there for the next ten to 15 years and then move to Anmer, which is so special to them,” they alleged.

Adelaide Cottage has had its fair share of prominent residents since it was first built and although it wasn't a permanent home for them, it also remained a popular choice for visits from King William and Queen Adelaide. So much so, that the late Queen supposedly had her beloved pet spaniel, Dash, buried in its grounds.

Perhaps the most notable Adelaide Cottage residents in recent years before Prince William and Kate moved in was Group Captain Peter Townsend, who will likely be a familiar name to not only royal fans but avid watchers of Netflix's The Crown. As equerry to Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI, Peter reportedly lived there with his wife from 1944.

The couple divorced in 1952 and the world was left astounded when the news broke that Peter and Princess Margaret were in a romantic relationship with one another. The couple never went on to marry and he later moved out of this beautiful property after his divorce.

Years later in 2018 rumors began to circulate that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were going to make Adelaide Cottage their home. However, at the time someone else with a strong royal connection was supposedly already living there and they never ended up moving in. Simon Rhodes, the son of the late Margaret Rhodes, Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin and a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen Mother, is said to have previously resided at the cottage.

Is Adelaide Cottage open to the public?

Sadly for fans eager to get a glimpse inside Adelaide Cottage, the property is not one of the royal homes that is open to the public. Many of the royal residences can be visited, including Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and even now Balmoral Castle, though Adelaide Cottage is the Prince and Princess of Wales’s private family home. The residences that are open to the public are either owned by King Charles (as in the case of Balmoral and the estate where Sandringham House is) or by the Crown Estate, but are primarily used by the monarch rather than his family members.