Inside Kensington Palace: The Royals Who’ve Called It Home, from Prince William to Princess Eugenie.x

Prince William and Princess Kate still use Apartment 1A inside Kensington Palace as their London base for work and pleasure purposes, but did you know that there are a whole host of other royals who also live within the palace grounds? This royal residence has also previously been home to some significant royal family members, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Discover the inhabitants, past and present…

Aerial image of Kensington Palace© Getty

The palace is located in London

Is Kensington Palace a private residence?

The palace is classed as a working royal residence. It is home to members of the royal family who reside in the private quarters, but some of the palace is open to members of the public for viewing. The King’s state apartments are available for touring, and they were first opened to visitors by Queen Victoria in 1898.

diana and william in front of kensington palace

Current residents

Prince William still retains a base inside the palace

The Prince and Princess of Wales

The Prince and Princess of Wales are currently planning a move from Adelaide Cottage to Forest Lodge in Windsor, but as well as their rural base, they retain use of Apartment 1A inside Kensington Palace to use with their three children: Prince GeorgePrincess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Despite being called an apartment, the 20-room, four-storey property is rather large and impressive and has been a home for the family since 2017.

It previously belonged to Princess Margaret, and it boasts five reception rooms, three main bedrooms, dressing rooms, a night and day nursery, and staff quarters. Features inside include underfloor heating, encrypted Wi-Fi, a TV projector and a panic room.

Eugenie and Jack smiling at Cheltenham Festival

© Getty

Eugenie and Jack use a cottage on site

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank, along with their two sons, August and Ernest, split their time between the UK and Portugal.

The humble Ivy Cottage within palace walls is where they call home. The chocolate-box cottage is picture-perfect from the outside with a white picket fence, climbing roses and white Georgian windows.

Prince Michael of Kent and Princess Michael of Kent attended a Christmas Lunch for members of the Royal Family hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Thursday

© Getty Images

The couple have lived there for years

The Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

Prince Michael and Princess Michael live in Apartment 10 at Kensington Palace, a five-bedroom, five-reception room apartment. The couple have lived in the palace since the seventies and were once neighbours with Princess Diana, who lived next door at combined Apartment 8 and 9.

The Kents, who retired from public duties in 2022, came under fire in the 2000s when it was revealed that they did not pay rent. Her Late Majesty had been paying her cousin’s £120,000 rent, while he and his wife only took care of the weekly utility bill. Members of parliament demanded that they start paying their £10,000-a-month market-rate rent in 2002.

Duke of Kent pictured at Duchess of Kent's funeral

© Max Mumby

The Duke of Kent lives alone since his wife’s death

The Duke of Kent

Living next door to Princess Eugenie and Jack is the late Queen’ Elizabeth II’s cousin, the Duke of Kent. His wife, Katherine, sadly passed away in September 2025, and now he lives there alone. Their modest two-storey cottage, which once housed palace staff, overlooks a walled garden and is slightly detached from the palace. It was named after Sir Christopher Wren, the palace’s chief restorer.

The Duke and Duchess are empty nesters now

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester currently live in the Old Stables at Kensington Palace after downsizing from Apartment 1. The couple moved to the residence after a refurbishment to modernise the living space and downsized after their children left home. The Old Stables was famously home to Tommy Lascelles, who fans of The Crown might recognise from the early season of the show.

Former residents

duke of gloucester on phone

© Getty

The late Princess Diana raised her sons there

Princess Diana

Princess Diana raised her sons Prince William and Prince Harry inside the palace and they attended nursery and junior school nearby, before going to Eton College.

According to biographer Andrew Morton, the palace was a “children’s paradise” with its long passageways, a helicopter pad and many outdoor gardens, including one on the roof where the family spent many hours.

The late princess even lived in Apartments 8 and 9 after her divorce from the then-Prince Charles.

Diana, Princess of Wales with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry at piano

© Getty Images

The Sussexes lived in a humble cottage on site

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first moved in together, they lived at Nottingham Cottage. Unlike some of the grander rooms at Kensington Palace, the cottage, also known as Nott Cott, boasts only two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.

Speaking about the home in his Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, Harry joked: “As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace. We were. In a cottage.” Meghan said: “It was just a chapter in our lives where I don’t think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes.”

Harry and Meghan smiling

© Getty

Princess Margaret was famed for parties at the palace

Princess Margaret

Antony Armstrong-Jones, David Linley and Princess Margaret with baby Lady Sarah Chatto

The late Princess Margaret called the Palace home, and she lived there with her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, where they raised their two children: David Armstrong-Jones and Lady Sarah Chatto. The couple were known for hosting lavish parties with celebrities of the day during their time there.

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