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Prince William will be in Paris today attending the reopening of Notre Dame© Getty

Prince William's low-key former residence with 'leisure centre loos'

The Prince of Wales has lived in a few different kinds of accommodation

Rachel Avery
Homes Editor
January 23, 2025
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You may associate Prince William with his grand London home, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace or his Windsor home, Adelaide Cottage, but the royal used to reside in an altogether more low-key form of accommodation…

A far cry from the luxury the heir to the throne is probably accustomed to, William once lived in very basic living quarters when he was at military academy Sandhurst.

WATCH: See Prince William try flying drone during Army live firing exercise

On the British Army website there is forum comment from a reservist called Jen who has experienced the basic training at Sandhurst and she details what the residence is like including the "leisure centre loos and showers".

Answering a question about the accommodation, Jen penned: "Accommodation at Sandhurst is good. You spend your first term in Old College (the big white building that you see in all the Sandhurst Pictures) and usually you'd have your own room."

ront facade of Old College building Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,© imageBROKER/Shutterstock
The Old College building at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where William would have stayed

She went on to explain that a room consists of "a single bed, desk, cupboard, drawers etc" and she also adds that it comes with "free wifi".

"Some of the boys sometimes have to share (i.e. two to a room) but not always - depending on the numbers in the intake," she added. Although there is a chance William's year would have been highly subscribed, for security reasons he would have been likely to have been given his own room.

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Jen describes the washroom facilities: "There's a bathroom for the females and a bathroom for the guys. These are much like you'd get in a leisure centre (loos and showers) and there's also a couple of baths in their own cubicles too."'

Living in Wales

Prince William's career then led him to the RAF, working as a search and rescue pilot and during this time, William and his then new wife Princess Kate lived together in Anglesey.

Prince William and Princess Kate's four-bedroom home in Anglesey, Wales
Prince William and Princess Kate's four-bedroom home in Anglesey, Wales

The couple shared a remote cottage on the Bodorgan Estate and Kate has previously spoken out about how that period was "isolating" for her with her tiny new son Prince George.

"It was so isolated, so cut off, I didn't have my family around me, he was doing night shifts," she said.

Windsor life

William, Kate and their three beautiful children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis now have a gorgeous family home in Windsor near to King Charles' castle, on the grounds of Great Windsor Park.

Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate, the home of the Prince and Princess of Wales© Shutterstock
The Wales family live in Adelaide Cottage in Windsor

Since moving in, the family have only shown a few very small glimpses inside their private abode, but the history books tell us a lot more about the residence, including that it was made from parts taken from the original Royal Lodge which is located nearby.

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