There’s a reason why the Caribbean island of Mustique has long been a favorite of royals and celebrities alike—and mostly, it boils down to privacy.
In addition to being Princess Margaret’s No. 1 vacation spot, Mustique (which is part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) has also welcomed Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, and Daniel Craig. Most recently, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis headed there for the kids’ half-term break from school—and it’s not the first time the family of five has vacationed there.
Prince William and Kate Middleton in the Caribbean in 2022.
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“Kate is paranoid about her children’s privacy, which narrows down the choice of holiday spots,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward told The Sun. “Most of the very expensive villas are set well out of sight from the road, and everything is at hand. The beaches are usually deserted—not a sun lounger in sight.”
She added that “There is a no-fly zone put in place over the island when royalty or high-end VIPs are staying to ensure no drones hover overhead taking illicit photographs.”
William and Kate also “have their bodyguards within running distance from them at all times, and of course they become friends and help carry things to the beach.”
The island of Mustique.
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The Wales family’s tropical vacation follows a ski vacation around the New Year. Seward, who is also editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told The Sun that “William was anxious to give Kate some of the sunshine she craved after her cancer illness, which put her in the shade for almost a year. So Mustique was the obvious choice, as they are guaranteed privacy there.”
This is a return trip to Mustique for the Prince and Princess of Wales, where The Sun reported that the couple enjoy playing tennis, going snorkelling and scuba diving, and drinking cocktails at the Cotton House resort on the 1,400-acre island. They can do all of this because of Mustique’s strict privacy rules, which include employing its own police force to ensure privacy. Every guest on the island is accounted for, and security is led by a former Scotland Yard chief.
“It’s about as close as they can come without going to total wilderness as they did on their honeymoon, when they went to an island in the middle of nowhere,” a source told The Sun, referring to their 2011 honeymoon in the Seychelles. “To go to a place with two bars and a few other people and not feel totally isolated, Mustique is perfect.”
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A source speaking to Tatler called William and Kate “creatures of habit,” and said that they continue to choose Mustique for family vacations because “it’s incredibly private and incredibly discreet, but not remote. They know and trust the staff who work there.”
It has long been seen as a royal getaway, but the Princess of Wales has also been vacationing there for years with her parents and siblings. “Kate used to go there, the Middletons used to go there. The family love it.”
The privacy consideration echoes the words of William and Kate’s former royal aide Jason Knauf, who gave a wide-ranging interview to 60 Minutes Australia over the weekend. Knauf told the program that the couple are concerned about how they are “going to prepare their children for life in the public eye,” adding, “I definitely saw the worried mum and dad behind the scenes, but a lot less in recent years, which has been fantastic for them as a family.”
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The family has since returned home to the U.K., as the kids’ break from school has ended and classes resumed on Monday, February 24.