Key royal staff member Kate Middleton and Prince William refuse to have at Adelaide Cottage
THE Prince and Princess of Wales have decided against having a key member of royal staff in their home.
Adelaide Cottage will reportedly cut down on staff, according to a royal commentator.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman said Prince William and Kate Middleton have “no room” for a butler in their Windsor home, reports Hello Magazine.
The author made the staffing revelation in his new book New King, New Court.
He detailed the reasons why the younger royals have ruled out employing a full-time butler.
“The couple did not seek to boost the staff numbers at Adelaide Cottage, not least because there would be little room to do so,” the author wrote.
“Reports that the Prince was hiring a valet were knocked back.”
Robert did explain that alternative role currently exists at Prince William and Kate’s other residence, Kensington Palace.
“The Kensington Palace team does include a ‘yeoman,’ a multi-tasking attendant who looks after everything from luggage to uniforms, but there is no ‘gentleman’s gentleman’ on the staff,” he wrote.
“And certainly no butler, it’s very much them at home with the kids,” one source told the royal expert.
The monarchy’s annual Sovereign Grant Report revealed that 50 staff are currently employed at Kensington Palace.
A breakdown of costs from the 2023-2024 year found that the wage bill for royal staff was £27.9 million.
The cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the upkeep of a royal household was also revealed to have cost £2.6 million for the year.
And while William and Kate are making an effort to cut down on staff in their Windsor home, they have also implemented another rule in the household.
The Prince revealed that he and his wife encourage their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to be climate-conscious in their home.
“Every family tries to do what they can to sort of help with the environment,” Prince William said in an interview with the BBC.
He made the comment came ahead of the Earthshot Prize Awards in Cape Town.
Royal staff salaries
Glassdoor have shared some of the annual wages for staff at the royal residence.
- Butler – £10,000
- Goat herder – £10,000
- Assistant to the King – £99,974
- Retail assistant – £24,000
- Visitor assitant – £18,000
- Ambassador – £6,000
- Warden – £22,000
- Cleaner – £20,000
- HR officer – £31,000
- Office manager and bookkeeper – £95,000
- IT director – £58,000
- Food taster – £10,000
- Dog walker – £24,000
“We go through all the basics of recycling, making sure we minimise water use, and turning off lights when we leave the house and things like that,” he explained.
“Which is sensible in what we do around the environment, and I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can.”
Royal fans were given an inside look into the family’s home life inside Adelaide Cottage in their video giving an update on Kate’s health journey in September.
The footage featured the family-of-five enjoying time outdoors in the Norfolk countryside.
They could also be seen playing a game of cards around a table in their Windsor home.
The history behind Adelaide Cottage
WILLIAM and Kate's new home was built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV.
The couple never produced an heir — so when William died in 1837 the throne went to his niece, Victoria.
Victoria would often visit the cottage for tea and cake.
A century later the property became the grace-and-favour home of Group Captain Peter Townsend who had an affair with the current Queen’s sister Margaret.
The pair would often ride horses in Windsor Great Park but were not allowed to marry because he was a divorcé.
Adelaide Cottage was designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville and incorporated building materials from nearby Royal Lodge, where Andy and Sarah Ferguson now live.
Descriptions of the Waleses’ new home in 1831 describe it as “chastely elegant” and say “its locale affords a delightful shade at all hours of the day”.
George, Charlotte and Louis will be enjoying the manicured gardens, said to be little changed in 200 years.