Most people’s first glimpse of Kensington Palace up close is not at all like a scene from the movies about palaces. It feels… oddly normal. Not the building, obviously. It looks like a building that hasn’t moved since the beginning of time, secure and dismissive, like it knows London will change around it and it won’t have to.
But at street level, the vibe is quieter than many people expect. A few tourists clinging to tickets, or some joggers who cut through the park, also contribute to the sense of serenity. There’s a distant rattle of a bike chain in the background. And then that moment when you clock the odd contrast: public museum on one side of a wall, private lives on the other.
So you end up asking the question everyone asks, usually in a low voice, like it’s rude.
Does the royal family actually live here?
Yes. Kensington Palace is still a working royal residence in London, with private homes and offices inside the wider palace site. It’s not where the monarch lives day to day. But it is very much a place where royals live, work, and base themselves when London is pulling them in. The official royal website describes it as containing the offices and London residences of the Prince and Princess of Wales, plus other senior royals.
And here’s where it gets more interesting. Kensington Palace isn’t one grand house with one grand family inside. It’s more like a small, guarded neighbourhood that happens to sit behind one of the most famous façades in Britain. Historic rooms open to the public, private apartments behind doors you’ll never see opened, and a mix of ceremony and real life happening side by side.
If you’ve ever tried to picture what “living in a palace” means in modern London, this is the place where the fantasy bumps into the practical bits.
What People Mean When They Say Kensington Palace
Start with a simple split. Kensington Palace has public areas and private areas.
The public side is what you visit. The State Apartments, exhibitions, galleries, and stories about monarchs, courtiers, clothes, and power are all part of the public side of Kensington Palace. Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that runs the visitor side, talks openly about this dual life: parts open to visitors while private apartments still house royals and staff.
The private side is where the modern question lives. Because when people ask if the royal family lives there, they usually mean: are there actual homes inside the palace complex where royals sleep, make tea, argue about school runs, and read briefing papers at ridiculous hours.
And yes, there are. Historic Royal Palaces calls Kensington Palace the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, even though they do not spend every night there. That detail matters. “Official London residence” is not the same thing as “main family home every day of the year”.
London, for the royals, is work. Events. Meetings. Patronages. Briefings. A calendar that never really stops. Kensington Palace is where some of that London life is based, even if Windsor handles more of the routine day-to-day.
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Who Lives In Kensington Palace Now
As of the most recent official descriptions, Kensington Palace contains the London residences and offices of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
That’s the safest list because it comes from official and museum-run sources, not gossip.
Now, the obvious follow-up: do all of these people live there full-time?
Not always. Modern royal living is more split than people assume. You’ll often see a mix of London bases and homes outside London, depending on duties, health, age, and security planning. What matters is that Kensington Palace remains a place where senior royals are based, with private homes and household offices tied to it.
A recent change that did make headlines in late 2025 was the death of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Kensington Palace, announced by Buckingham Palace. She was the wife of the Duke of Kent and passed away at age 92.
It was a reminder, in a very human way, that these aren’t just “historic buildings.” They’re still homes.
Kensington Palace Royal Apartments: Current Occupants & Residences
| Resident | Residence Name | Type |
| Prince & Princess of Wales | Apartment 1A | 20-room, 4-story home |
| Duke of Kent | Wren House | Detached Cottage |
| Duke & Duchess of Gloucester | Old Stables | Modernised large house |
| Prince & Princess Michael | Apartment 10 | 5-bedroom apartment |
| Princess Eugenie | Ivy Cottage | 3-bedroom cottage |
The Apartment Myth: It’s Not A Flat Above A Gift Shop
People hear “Apartment 1A” and imagine a smart London flat. Maybe a doorman, a lift, a view of the park.
That is not what this means.
Inside Kensington Palace, an “apartment” can be a large multi-storey set of rooms that functions more like a house inside a bigger structure. Wikipedia’s summary, backed by cited reporting, describes Apartment 1A as a four-storey, 20-room residence that required major renovations before the Wales family moved in.
So when you see the phrase Kensington Palace royal apartments, don’t picture a normal apartment building. Picture a cluster of separate homes, some huge and some modest, sitting inside the same guarded estate.
Which leads to the question people ask next.
How Many Apartments Are in Kensington Palace
Nobody publishes a neat public directory, for obvious reasons. But the broad structure is well described.
There are both public and private residences in Kensington Palace and on its grounds. It has housed about fifty resident units, such as royal apartments, staff quarters, and other residences.
People are surprised by that number because it makes the palace feel more like a community than a single household. It also explains why Kensington Palace keeps coming up in the news about the royal family, even when the monarch lives somewhere else. It’s a place with multiple households and long-running arrangements.
Some homes are grand, some smaller, and some tied to roles, security needs, or long-established tradition.
And yes, parts of it have also housed non-royal residents, such as staff and people paying market rent, depending on the unit and arrangement.
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Did Diana Live At Kensington Palace
Yes. After her marriage, Princess Diana also lived at Kensington Palace for many years, and it was her London home. Several sources cite her address as Apartments 8 and 9, which were combined when she lived there.
It’s actually a very emotional touchpoint for people, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Kensington Palace is one of the places where Diana’s life felt most visible. It was where she raised William and Harry in London, where photographers waited, and where her public role collided with her private reality.
What those apartments are used for now is handled with far less public detail than fans would like, but the palace’s modern household offices are based there for working royals. Wikipedia notes that Diana’s former residence was later converted for staff and official work linked to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
They house the headquarters for the Prince and Princess of Wales’s charitable work, which explains why the public can never visit them.
That shift, from private family rooms to offices, is a neat little summary of what Kensington Palace has become in the modern era. Less fairy tale. More admin. More meetings. More work.
History Of Kensington Palace
The building’s story starts before it was a palace at all.
It began as Nottingham House, a Jacobean mansion. In 1689, William III and Mary II bought it and began turning it into a royal palace. Layers of London notes the purchase and the reason often given: location, space, and a healthier setting than the city centre air of the time.
It also became the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria. That fact alone keeps the palace anchored in the national imagination. Historic Royal Palaces traces how parts of the palace became public-facing in 1899 when Victoria opened the State Apartments to visitors, creating the dual identity it still has today.
And then there’s the nickname from the twentieth century, “Aunt Heap,” a slightly harsh phrase that points to how the palace housed older royal relatives and widows in later life. Historic Royal Palaces mentions that reputation in its palace history.
So yes, Kensington Palace has glamour. But it also has a long record of being used as practical London housing for different branches of the family, across different eras, depending on who needed a base and when.
Why Kensington Palace Still Matters In 2026
If you’re expecting a neat answer like “the royal family lives there” or “they don’t”, Kensington Palace refuses to play along.
It’s a palace, a museum, and a working base at the same time. It’s a public space and a private home. It’s a place where tourists buy tickets in the morning and where a private grief happened in September 2025 when the Duchess of Kent died there, announced by Buckingham Palace the next day.
So yes, royals live at Kensington Palace. Some base themselves there. Some use it mainly for London duties. Some have lived there for decades as part of the older, quieter branches of the family.
And if you stand outside long enough, you start to see the odd truth of it. The palace isn’t a single story. It’s a stack of stories, layered on top of each other, with modern life happening right in the middle.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the royal family live in Kensington Palace right now?
Yes. Kensington Palace is a working royal residence, and there are private homes and offices that are used by senior royals, among them the Prince and Princess of Wales, as their official London base.
Who lives in Kensington Palace now?
Official sources list the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent as being based there.
How many apartments are in Kensington Palace?
Public descriptions commonly put it at about fifty resident units across the palace and its grounds, ranging from large royal homes to staff residences.
What are the Kensington Palace Apartments really like?
They vary a lot. Some “apartments” function like large houses inside the palace structure, with multiple floors and many rooms.
Did Diana live at Kensington Palace?
Yes. She lived in Apartments 8 and 9, which were combined, and Kensington Palace remained her London home for many years.
Can you visit the parts where royals live?
No. The areas open to visitors are historic public spaces run by Historic Royal Palaces. The private residences and household offices are not open to the public.
Now, be honest. If you walked past those palace windows after dusk, would you picture history, or would you picture someone inside doing normal life things like answering emails and hunting for a missing charger plug?
Sources and References
- The Royal Family Official Website: Royal Residences: Kensington Palace (Primary source for current residents and official status).
- Buckingham Palace Press Office: Death of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent (Official 2025 announcement regarding the passing of Katharine, Duchess of Kent).
- The Royal Diary: Future Engagements (Confirmation of Kensington Palace as a working base for 2026 events).
- Historic Royal Palaces (HRP): Modern Royals at Kensington Palace (Details on the “dual life” of the palace and public vs. private access).
- Layers of London: Nottingham House and the Growth of Kensington (Historical mapping of the original Jacobean mansion).
- Wikipedia (Architectural Records): Kensington Palace Interior and Grounds (Data regarding the 50 resident units and the specific history of Apartment 1A).
- The Guardian / BBC News: Obituary: Katharine, Duchess of Kent (1933–2025) (Verification of recent residency and 2025 news events).
- InStyle / Hello! Magazine: Inside Apartments 8 and 9: From Family Home to Charity HQ (Context for the conversion of Princess Diana’s former residence into modern offices).
- Royal Central: The Complete Guide to Royal Residents at Kensington (Detailed breakdown of current occupants and their specific cottages).
