Even Before She Was a Princess, Kate Middleton's Homes Were Practically Palaces

In 1979, Kate's parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, purchased this modest, four-bedroom brick Victorian "with a cramped kitchen" in the village of Bradfield Southend in Berkshire, England. It is the house that Kate was brought back to after her birth in 1982. When she was two years old, the family was relocated to Amman, Jordan, where Michael worked as flight dispatcher for British Airways. After returning to England in September 1986, the Middletons continued to live in West View until Kate was 13.

In September 2001, following a gap year spent in Italy, Kate enrolled at St. Andrews University on the east coast of Scotland. She spent her first year living in St. Salavator's Hall, known to students as "Sally's," which was split into male and female quarters. One of the other residents there happened to be Prince William; Kate recalled that she "went bright red and scuttled off, feeling very shy" after first meeting him, and the two went on to become roommates (along with mutual friends Olivia Bleasdale and Fergus Boyd) at 13a Hope Street, an off-campus apartment in the middle of town.

When it was time for Will and Kate to take on their official duties, the family moved to Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace. The 20-room, four-story London residence is the most regal building on the grounds and holds special significance, as it also served as Princess Margaret's living quarters and where Princess Diana called home until her death in 1997.

Anmer Hall, a late-Georgian country house located on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, was gifted to Prince William by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in early 2013. After extensive renovations — including a new kitchen, new roof, and the addition of a conservatory — Will and Kate, along with Prince George and a newborn Princess Charlotte, moved into the 10-bedroom mansion in 2015. Anmer Hall has been a part of the royal estate since 1898, and includes a private pool and tennis court; Sandringham is also where Her Majesty and the rest of the royal family spends the holidays.

While Anmer Hall has served as the primary residence for Kate for a couple of years now, it's been reported that the foursome will be returning to Kensington Palace full-time as they begin to fulfill even more royal responsibilities passed down from the Queen (and as Prince George gears up to attend his dad's alma mater, Wetherby Pre-Prepatory School). Even after they head back to the palace, they will likely continue to visit Anmer Hall as a vacation home.