The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are relocating to Windsor and now have three properties at their disposal, with an expert saying it shows the royals don't suffer the same cost of living crisis as everyone else.
Their central London home, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, used to belong to Princess Margaret, and will remain their official working residence.
It was refurbished at a cost of £4.5 million to the taxpayer with a new roof and electrics, and the removal of asbestos.
It has some 20 rooms and a large, private walled garden.
The Cambridges added a second kitchen, wanting a private family one in addition to the existing 350 sq ft kitchen.
Before William and Kate moved to "KP" in 2013, royal aides insisted it would remain their main home for "many, many years to come".
A royal spokesman said at the time: "This is the Duke and Duchess's one and only official residence.
"It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come."
Royal commentator and former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt has blasted the move, saying it shows the royals are not affected by the same issues as the general public who are facing soaring bills.
"Another home for the Cambridges is a reminder the royals don't suffer from the cost-of-living crisis and a looming recession in the same way as the rest of us," he said.
"When taxpayers' money was spent on refurbishing their apartment at Kensington Palace, Prince William, who campaigns for the homeless, insisted his family planned to stay there for many years to come."
The Duke and Duchess will continue to use Kensington Palace as their official working residence, and will also retain Anmer Hall, their country mansion in Norfolk.
Anmer Hall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 10-bedroom country retreat, was a gift to the couple from the Queen following their wedding.
The secluded red brick Georgian mansion sits on the monarch's vast, private Sandringham estate in Norfolk and is a short drive from Sandringham House.
Kate oversaw the major renovations, including the conversion of wood stores into accommodation for the nanny and the creation of a garden room.
The duchess was dubbed "Three kitchens Kate" after it was reported that a new kitchen was to be installed in place of the £50,000 designer one already there, with the family already having two kitchens at Kensington Palace.
The bolt-hole, which had a swimming pool and a tennis court, was given a £500,000 new roof, as well as a garden room, re-landscaped front driveway and new nursery for Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
The renovations, said to come to £1.5 million, were paid for mostly from the royal family's private funds.
Adelaide Cottage, the Grade II listed four-bed house in Windsor's private Home Park is William and Kate's newest home.
Owned by the Crown Estate, the Duke and Duchess will pay market rent on the picturesque historic building which is close to Windsor Castle.
It was built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide as a summer retreat and used to be the grace and favour home of Peter Townsend, whose love affair with Princess Margaret rocked the monarchy in the 1950s.
William and Kate announced the move back to Windsor so they could be closer to the Queen, while their three children will attend a new school together for the first time.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will attend Lambrook School in Berkshire, as the Cambridge family leave behind their Kensington Palace home in London, to the more “modest” four bedroom Adelaide Cottage on the Queen’s Windsor estate.
Royal sources said the future king and queen had thought “long and hard” over the issue with one palace insider saying their “overriding focus being to provide as ‘normal’ a life as possible for their children before beginning their own royal lives.”
The Cambridges will also fork out eye-watering fees for the children’s new school, spending in excess of £53,000 a year on their private education.
Fees cost £4,389 a term for Prince Louis, who is four, £6,448 per term for Charlotte, seven, and £6,999 per term for nine-year-old George, until pupils are 13.
The bill amounts to £53,508's worth of fees in 2021-2022.
The school boasts its own nine-hold golf course which is set in 52 acres of idyllic Berkshire countryside.
Lambrook School suggested it gives its pupils "feathers to fly" and a "delicious sense of freedom".
The Good Schools Guide describes it as a "classic prep school" with a "heart of gold", and tells of how youngsters get to "run and run" in the vast grounds with "total freedom to explore, provided you've got your wellies on".
Lambrook boasts of "first-class teaching and superb facilities" which include a 25-metre swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course, an astroturf, hard courts, a squash court, cricket and other sports pitches on the outskirts of Bracknell, a 20-minute drive from the Queen’s Windsor Castle home.
It has a Diamond Jubilee performing arts studio, dance studio and sports hall, and a new £6 million Queen's Building for ICT and academic learning.
Lambrook offers weekly and flexi-boarding for boys and girls aged seven onwards, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge having the option to let George and Charlotte stay as little as one night a week on an ad-hoc basis, with the sleepovers booked online.
George and Charlotte will be day pupils for now while Louis, who will be in reception, will enjoy "Forest Fridays" and be "taken on a journey of discovery in the beautiful outdoors", the school's prospectus says, mirroring the Duchess of Cambridge's philosophy of the importance of outdoor play and spending time in nature.
The family’s downsizing to the smaller Adelaide Cottage means William and Kate's full-time nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo will live elsewhere for the first time, as will other staff including the housekeeper and the chef.
Asked whether the couple was mindful of the economic difficulties facing many who would not be able to afford such opportunities, the source said: "They absolutely are.
"It's something they have thought long and hard about and this is a decision they have not taken lightly.
"It would have been extremely difficult for them to continue on as senior working royals if they were based in Norfolk.
"What they have basically done allows them to put the kids first, but also to continue on doing what they do all day, every day."
A royal source added: "This is very much a decision that two parents have made to give their children the 'most normal' start possible.
"Kensington Palace can be a little bit of a fishbowl.
"They wanted to be able to give George, Charlotte and Louis a bit more freedom than they have living in central London.
"It's very much a decision that's been led by the kids."
- An earlier version of this story said William also has a holiday cottage called Tam-Na-Ghar on the Balmoral estate, given to him by his great-grandmother the Queen Mother in 2002. The property is owned by the Crown Estate and is rented to a third party. It does not belong to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
