The Princess of Wales has finally left hospital after an extended stay following "planned abdominal surgery" on Tuesday 16 January and will be recovering at her private Adelaide Cottage home, Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement on Monday.
Although the future Queen received the best care possible while staying as an inpatient at The London Clinic, which is one of the best-equipped and largest private hospitals in the country, the royal is no doubt grateful to be back at her Windsor abode, reuniting with her husband Prince William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
© GettyA Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “The Princess of Wales has returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery from surgery. She is making good progress. The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided. The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
The 42-year-old royal is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter, and the Prince of Wales has temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for her and their children.
This also means that the three royal children can continue to go to school at Lambrook, located in Winkfield Row, near Ascot, maintaining "normality" for the royals while Princess Kate continues her recovery at home.
Adelaide Cottage was built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide Consort and King William IV as a day house, a place to visit during the day. The property is located on the grounds of the Windsor Estate in Windsor Great Park, just off the track of The Long Walk. It sits on 655 acres of land and is just a ten-minute stroll from the main castle.
© ShutterstockThe Grade II-listed residence has four bedrooms – a modest scale in comparison to their London residence – and while royal fans haven't seen the inside of the property, photos of the outside show how stunning the building is. The light-pink exterior and white detailing around the roof, gutters and windows, as well as being surrounded by greenery give the beautiful building a total fairy tale feel.
A photo posted on a royal fan account on Instagram shows the exterior of Adelaide Cottage including the driveway full of visitor cars – before it was resided by the royals – which also highlights the size of the house. However, the photo in question is a few years old as the walls of the house are white, which have since been painted pink during a renovation.
© ShutterstockAs well as the main building, there is also a smaller outhouse located just behind. It is not known what the Wales family use this separate property for, however, it could perhaps be used as staff quarters.
In addition to four bedrooms, a kitchen and generous outdoor space, the cottage has an office area for the Prince and Princess of Wales to work from when they're not busy on location for their royal engagements. The inside of their home office was shown briefly during a video posted by Kensington Royal showing Prince William on a virtual call.
© GettyThe future King was working from an Apple Mac desktop and, in the background, a glass cabinet can see been, full of beautiful chinaware and ornaments.
Prince William and Kate moved into Adelaide Cottage in September 2022 shortly before Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis enrolled at Lambrook.
The royals do still have their Kensington Palace 1A apartment in the capital, available for when they undertake engagements in London, but residing mostly at Adelaide Cottage affords the family a level of privacy away from the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as being closer to their children's school.
© Chris JacksonThe royals made the decision to move to Windsor to be closer to Queen Elizabeth II, however, the same month they moved into their idyllic cottage, Her Majesty passed away aged 96. The Wales family also have their country home, Anmer Hall, located on the Sandringham Estate.
