Prince William has held the title of The Prince of Wales for almost three years now, with this role holding a lot of responsibility. Since his father became King in 2022, William has had to inherit everything that being first-in-line to the throne consists of, which includes responsibility for the Duchy of Cornwall estate.
The estate is particularly important to the prince, 43, as it provides an income to him and his family, which is to be used for both his public and private life. It is reported that William pays income tax on his earnings from the estate, but this year he has not disclosed the exact sum he has paid, which is believed to be in the highest bracket.
He has also not revealed in the annual report the Duchy of Cornwall issues exactly how many housekeepers, chefs, butlers, gardeners and so on that he has – something King Charles, as Prince of Wales, used to offer a breakdown of.
Instead, the prince has simply revealed that him and Princess Kate have 68 staff members in total to support the work of the couple and the lifestyles of their three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
It is not known how many staff members do what for the couple, which is believed to be better for security, however it is believed that many of their staff members are still based at Kensington Palace rather than at the couple’s Windsor home, where they instead pop in to help the family when needed.
This is because Prince William and Princess Kate decided to relocate to the four-bed Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate in 2022, with the home having no room for live-in staff.
It is believed this move was intentional, with the future King and Queen wanting to give George, Charlotte and Louis as ordinary an upbringing as possible, which includes cooking their own dinners and doing school pick-up and drop-offs without help from royal staff.
The move also gave the children more privacy both indoors and outdoors, with the family having more space to live life as an ordinary family.
Royal expert Jennie Bond once told the i Paper: They (William and Kate) can’t change the fact that their children have been born into an extraordinary destiny and they’ve introduced them gently to some of the pomp and pageantry, but they’ve also given them a taste of a more ordinary existence – moving out of Kensington Palace to a relatively modest house with no live-in staff.”
This same view of the couple wanting to give their children an “ordinary” upbringing was also once echoed by royal expert Katie Nicholl, who once said: “They are far more ordinary than many might imagine – the kids even have to do chores in return for their pocket money.
“It’s about them wanting to have a normal, happy, ordinary family home and lifestyle which, at Adelaide Cottage, they are really achieving.”