Prince William and Princess Kate's staff have a relaxed approach to palace life – details

The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have lived at Adelaide Cottage since 2022. Their relatively humble four-bedroom home does not have any live-in staff, however, their employees do come to the property for things like gardening, housekeeping and childcare.

You may not be surprised to learn that there are rules around what the staff should wear when on duty, but you may be rather surprised to learn what the rules actually are! According to Royal writer, Valentine Low, author of Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, an employee told him that casualwear is requested and formalwear frowned upon, as reported by The Sun.

"The kids run around the office, and he does not want it to be stuffy. If we have important meetings or are going to Buckingham Palace, then, of course, we [dress up]," the source said.

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This is just another way that Prince William and his wife ensure the kids have as 'normal' of an upbringing as possible.

School run

Kate and William are keen to be present parents and don't rely as heavily on nannies as many royals have done.

Reportedly, William planned his diary around the children's school pick up and drop off times during Kate's cancer treatment to ensure he was a hands-on dad.

The Prince has revealed that he has meaningful chats on the school run, one of them being about his passion project of ending homelessness. On the topic of talking to his kids about the realities of homelessness, William said: "I am probably already doing it on the school run. The first few times I thought, 'Do I bring this up or should I wait to see if they notice?' Sure enough, they did." They were sort of in silence when I said what was going on."

Prince William continued: "I do think it is really important that you start these conversations when the children are small, so they understand the world around them, rather than just living in their own worlds."

Their move to Windsor was another attempt to give the three kids a chance of leading a more average life. Kate herself grew up in the countryside and she appears to want to emulate that for her children.

The family rarely share looks inside their idyllic cottage property with its striking pink exterior, preferring to keep it private. The glimpses we have seen have shown that they have a vast garden, which is ideal for the children to play in.

Other homes

As well as Adelaide Cottage, the family have a Norfolk residence, Anmer Hall and a London base, Apartment 1A inside Kensington Palace.

In an Apple Time to Walk episode, William previously said of Anmer Hall: "We spend as much time as we can here, it's very peaceful."

The Georgian property has 10 bedrooms, and they have plenty of outdoor space here too for playing with the kids.