Kate Middleton and Prince William lived on the Isle of Anglesey for three years, before moving to Kensington Palace
Bodorgan Hall is a large farmhouse with a slate roof and white-washed stone walls(Image: Spread Pictures)
There’s been a great deal of speculation about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s living arrangements, as the Royal couple have announced their plans to move into their brand new forest lodge home later this year. This eight-bedroom home on the Windsor Castle estate will be shared with their three children.
William and Kate have resided in their current home, Adelaide Cottage, since 2022 after relocating from Kensington Palace. It’s fair to say they’ve had some remarkable homes over the years, including a stint living in Wales during one phase of their lives.
The Royal pair lived on the Isle of Anglesey, or Ynys Môn, from 2010 to 2013. This was while William was serving as a search and rescue pilot with the RAF, whose base is conveniently situated near Bodorgan, close to where the family resided.
Before their engagement, William and Kate moved into a property on the Newborough estate, a rural part of Anglesey’s western side. Nearby villages include Bodorgan, Newborough, and Malltraeth.
The house they stayed in was an old, white-stoned farmhouse, believed to be Prince George’s first home, as Kate and William returned to Anglesey for a few weeks following his birth in London. Given that most of Anglesey is rural, with only small villages and farms, Kate was able to carry out her daily activities without much fuss according to reports, while William was at work.
She was seen in Llangefni, buying dog food from the neighbourhood pet store, and in Menai Bridge, completing her weekly food shop at Anglesey’s sole Waitrose. Looking back on his and Kate’s period on Anglesey, Prince William revealed: “This island has been our first home together, and it will always be an immensely special place for us both. Catherine and I look forward to returning again and again over the coming years with our family.
“I know that I speak for Catherine when I say that I have never in my life known somewhere as beautiful and as welcoming as Anglesey.”
Nevertheless, whilst visiting a children’s centre in Cardiff in 2020, almost a decade afterwards, Kate admitted she had felt rather cut off during their time there. She disclosed: “I was chatting to some of the mums, I had just had George and William was still working with search and rescue, so we came up here when George was a tiny, tiny little baby, in the middle of Anglesey.
“It was so isolated, so cut off, I didn’t have my family around me, he was doing night shifts, so if only I’d had a centre like this at a certain time.”
The pair lived at Bodorgan Hall, a four-bedroom farmhouse featuring a Welsh slate roof sourced from the local area and multiple large windows, providing stunning views across the neighbouring coastline and the Eryri mountains. The property provides the chance to take a leisurely walk through Newborough Forest to Llanddwyn beach, and then along the sands to Llanddwyn Island, once the dwelling of Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of love.
The estate is acknowledged as an Area of Outstanding Beauty and Environmentally Sensitive Area, largely due to its encompassing woodland and beach. It also features a circular dovecote, barn, extensive gardens, a lawn, and a deer park. The house was built between 1779 and 1782, with significant additions made in the mid-19th century.
Kate and William paid a modest £750 per month in rent to Sir George Meyrick, the owner of the property and the estate on which it stands, the largest estate on Anglesey.
The house consisted of two bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, and four bedrooms. After their wedding in 2011, and again following the birth of Prince George, the Royal couple returned to Bodorgan Hall.
Carole Middleton stayed with Kate and William to help with the newborn, and according to reports at the time, the Queen’s former housekeeper Antonella Fresolone travelled to the island to cook for them.