Who Lives at Kensington Palace?

Forget the Tanner residence — Kensington Palace is the original “full house”! We all know Queen Elizabeth lets her grandchildren live there while she rules the roost over at Buckingham Palace, but Kensington Palace is actually brimming with British royals who will likely never sit on the throne. So, who exactly lives at Kensington Palace, you ask? Keep reading!

Let’s start with the obvious residents — London’s Kensington Palace is the home and workplace of Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry, and now Meghan Markle, too. But they don’t even make up half the royals who call Kensington Palace home.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

According to the family’s official website, the Palace also houses the residences and offices of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (aka the Queen’s cousin Prince Richard and his wife, Birgitte), the Duke and Duchess of Kent (aka the Queen’s cousin Prince Edward and his wife, Katharine), and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent (aka another of the Queen’s cousins and his wife, Marie).

Not mentioned on the Kensington Palace webpage, however, is Princess Eugenie of York, William and Harry’s cousin, who started renting the three-bedroom Ivy Cottage on the Palace’s grounds in 2016 (and is reportedly paying “market rent” for the digs).

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The Jacobean-style mansion has been in the royal family since 1689 when King William III and Queen Mary II bought it from their Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham. (Fittingly, it was called Nottingham House at the time.) That royal couple extended and improved the manse, and it’s been a royal favorite ever since, even though British sovereigns stopped calling it home in 1760 in favor of other residences, such as Buckingham Palace. But it’s still near and dear to the royal family and to their subjects alike. Princess Diana even got to stay there after divorcing Prince Charles.

Of course, the royals aren’t alone in the house. According to Women & Home, Kensington Palace boasts a total of 50 residents, including staff members, courtiers, military members, and even regular citizens. With so many famous neighbors and such luxurious surroundings, the rent there is gotta be sky-high!

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