KATE Middleton and her husband Prince William are no strangers to Royal residences, with three beautiful properties to their name.
But while the couple are now happily living at their Windsor base, Adelaide Cottage, their first home surely has lifelong memories from when their adventure was just beginning.
And for Kate, 41, and Prince William, 40, it’s rural North Wales that holds that particularly special place in their hearts – specifically the Isle of Anglesey.
That’s because The Prince and Princess of Wales – who currently share another London home, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, as well as their country retreat, Anmer Hall – moved into a property on the Bodorgan Estate before they tied the knot in 2011.
The couple, who are now proud parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, lived in a rented four-bedroom farmhouse in the lead-up to the wedding and shortly afterwards.
Kate and William are said to have paid approximately £750 a month for the cute cottage owned by Lord and Lady Meyrick, and they lived there for two years between 2011 to 2013.
While not much is known about the inside of the property, it has been reported that it boasted four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen, while the dining area is said to have had a traditional log fireplace.
And they certainly made the most of their time there, taking advantage of the property’s private beach access, as well as the views of the surrounding Newborough Forest.
According to reports, Kate and William would have also enjoyed beach views as you “could see the water from the bedrooms on the first floor, which overlook the top of outbuildings.”
These were said to be used as sleeping quarters for security guards, as they surrounded the main home – the largest on the estate.
At the time William was working as a search and rescue pilot with the RAF, while Catherine was able to blend in with the locals in the tiny town and nearby villages, including Bodorgan, Newborough and Malltraeth ar ol.
The white-stoned, modest house also marked another significant moment in the couple’s relationship, as it was the place that they first took Prince George home.
However, they only remained there for a few weeks after they welcomed their first born, before they moved permanently to Kensington Palace.
So it’s only natural that William has previously described the house, and Anglesey as a whole, as an “immensely special place” for both of them.
However, Kate has also previously opened up about some of the tougher times she experienced while living in the off-grid property’s four walls – particularly as a new mum.
During a public visit to a children’s centre in Cardiff, Wales, in 2020, Kate recalled feeling “isolated” and struggling as she had nobody nearby.
Kate explained: “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.”
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