Even in the modern age, the idea of working royals tends to go hand-in-hand with the idea of dedicated teams of people working behind-the-scenes to keep things running smoothly. If you’re looking for royal family Downton Abbey vibes, though, don’t bother checking the Wales family home.
Prince William and Kate Middleton famously refuse to employ live-in staff in their family home—and they have a good reason for the being so staunchly against the prospect.
Like so many decisions the Prince and Princess of Wales make, the couple’s prohibition on live-in staff is a parenting decision, first and foremost, according to royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, who says that requiring their children to do household chore is a key part of Will and Kate’s plan for keeping their children grounded, and all three Wales kids are “expected to muck in.”
“They absolutely do menial tasks,” Nicholl explained, according to The Mirror. “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.”
Nicholl isn’t the only royal expert who has confirmed the Waleses aversion to the idea of live-in staff. As The Mirror notes, royal biographer Robert Hardman touched on the royal couple’s decision to “reject live-in staff,” in his book Charles III: New King, New Court.
“The couple did not seek to boost the staff numbers at Adelaide Cottage, not least because there would be little room to do so,” Hardman writes in the book (per The Mirror).
“Reports that the Prince was hiring a valet were knocked back.”
In its report on the issue of the Wales family’s lack of a live-in staff, The Mirror also quoted a Daily Mail royal source who reiterated the normalcy of the Wales children’s lives at home—thanks, at least in part, to Will and Kate’s insistence that they do chores.
“I think it would surprise people to see how ordinary things are at home,” the source explained. “The children help with laying the table, clearing their plates when they’ve finished eating and helping with tidying up. There’s no preferential treatment.”
According to royal expert Duncan Larcombe, Will and Kate are following the Middleton family’s parenting blueprint in many ways.
“That small family unit of three kids, the same as with Kate and her siblings,” he told OK! (per The Mirror‘s report). “They don’t live lavishly, but they do live very comfortably.”
Even though the Wales family’s new home, Forest Lodge, is much larger than their current home, People reports that Will and Kate have no plans to change their policy on live-in staff when their family leaves Adelaide Cottage later this year.
“In a bid to make their family life as normal as possible for the children, the Prince and Princess of Wales also will not have any live-in staff at Forest Lodge,” the outlet reported, adding that the Wales children’s long-time nanny, Maria Turrion Borrallo, and the family’s housekeepers will likely stay on other smaller properties on the estate.
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