When the Prince and Princess of Wales moved from Adelaide Cottage to Forest Lodge with their three children at the end of 2025, their living quarters got a serious glow-up. They upgraded from the four-bedroom cottage to the eight-bedroom property, which boasts a number of impressive features, including one that could change her morning routine in 2026.
Their home has access to a private lake, which could be used for cold-water swimming – an activity that many pick up in the new year due to its associated health benefits and something Kate has previously admitted to being a fan of. "I love cold swimming," the royal said while appearing on Mike Tindall's The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby podcast in 2023. "The colder the better."
Then, in November 2025, William revealed that he shares his wife's passion. "You feel great afterwards," he admitted of cold swimming during a visit to Colwyn Bay in Wales. "I love it. I do a lot of yelling and screaming when I get in."
What are the benefits of cold water swimming?
Cold water swimming, or cold water therapy if you are taking a dip in a plunge pool, has a wealth of health benefits.
Ali Phillips, who instructs wild swimming sessions at the Lake District spa Armathwaite Hall, told us that cold water therapy gives us a chance to switch off, which is ideal if you find your mind still whirs during yoga or breathwork sessions.
"Once you're immersed in the cold water, you are fully in that experience and forget about everything else," she said. "Although cold water therapy is not prescribed as medicine, people are encouraged to take part if they suffer from mental health issues."
Meanwhile, Eva Katrín Sigurðarsóttir, a medical doctor and certified Wim Hof (the Dutch extreme athlete known for his ability to withstand low temperatures) Method instructor at Hvammsvík, exclusively told us: "An increase in energy, improved sleep quality, reduced stress levels, heightened focus and determination, increased willpower and even a stronger immune system have all been scientifically proven as benefits of the Wim Hof Method."
Experts recommend that beginners start slowly, perhaps in the summer months or a cold shower, and never swim alone in open water.
Why did William and Kate move to Forest Lodge?
Forest Lodge not only marked a new chapter after Kate's preventative treatment for cancer in 2024, but it also provided the family-of-five with a significant amount more space.
"The Prince and Princess of Wales clearly love living in Windsor, the children are settled at Lambrook School nearby, and they will still be close to Windsor Castle for royal functions and engagements," Danielle Stacey, HELLO!'s Online Royal Correspondent, said previously of the Wales family's move. "Upsizing to Forest Lodge allows the family more space and has already been viewed as their 'forever home,' rather than having the children growing up within the walls of a palace."
Keen to create as 'normal' a childhood as possible for their three children, William and Kate have also enforced a rule at Forest Lodge that they carried over from Adelaide Cottage.
Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told us: "William and Kate have never wanted live-in staff; I think that's the modern way. Since William was a little boy, he's seen all the staff at the late Queen's homes, and he never wanted that. It's not something Kate grew up with either."