Prince William and Kate Middleton’s new home is likely not their permanent one.
The new Prince and Princess of Wales, both 40, relocated with their three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — from London to Windsor at the end of the summer. As the family of five settles into their new home at Adelaide Cottage, insiders say that they will eventually live in the 1,000-year-old Windsor Castle itself.
The ancestral seat of the British royal family, Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. According to the Royal Collection Trust, 40 monarchs have called the palatial space home since it was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Queen Elizabeth used Windsor Castle regularly throughout her reign, though it is thought that her son King Charles III won’t spend as much time there following his accession as sovereign.
For now, the Wales family is enjoying Windsor’s vast parkland and countryside where George, Charlotte and Louis can freely play.
“They love that the kids can go out on their bikes and cycle around the estate, and they are all really excited to meet everyone,” a friend tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “It’s a real little community.”
For the first time, nanny Maria Turrion Borrallo is living separately from them. Princess Kate wants her children to have as normal an upbringing as possible under their unique circumstances and is so far bucking royal tradition by keeping Prince George at home rather than sending him to boarding school.
Last month, William and Kate‘s children enrolled as new pupils at the Lambrook School. Just 15 minutes away from Adelaide Cottage, the royal parents try to do the school drop-off and pickup most days.
As the family finds a new routine following the death of Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8, cottage life is much like it is at their beloved country retreat, Amner Hall in Norfolk, where the kids and their friends are in and out of the swimming pool. George will flop onto the sofa beside his father, while Charlotte makes a beeline for familiar guests.
Theirs is a life of a “modern royal family doing normal things,” as one close family friend puts it.
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