Kensington Palace’s trick to stop public looking into royal garden

Kensington Palace uses a subtle trick to stop visitors peeking into  Kate Middleton and Prince William’s private gardens during tours of their residence, a TikTok user has shown.  

Certain parts of the Palace, which contains the offices and London residences of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are available for guests to visit. 

However measures have been taken to ensure the couple’s privacy, including secret partially frosted windows in one upper floor room to stop the public being able to peep into their garden. 

Royal fan Laura-Ann Barr, from Northern Ireland, noticed the subtle trick during a tour of the gardens and shared footage of the ‘secret windows’ on her TikTok account. 

Sharing a comparison shot of the half-frosted window, she wrote: I’m on the Kensington Palace tour. 

‘Look at the secret windows they have to make sure you can’t see into Kate & Will’s private garden to the right. They have it on all the windows in this room.’

Despite being referred to as their apartment, the couple’s private residence is said to be ‘enormous’ with more than 20 rooms. 

Speaking on True Royalty’s Royal Beat, British royal author Christopher Warwick said: ‘It has 20 rooms from the basement to the attic, it is not a small house. 

‘All of these royal residences at Kensington Palace are called apartments, which of course makes people immediately think they are flats like the American term for an apartment.

‘They are not. If you think of Kensington Place in a way it is built around three courtyards. If you kind of think of them as being these wonderful red brick terrace houses. Because they are all joined, but separate houses,’ he added.

Royal fan Laura-Ann Barr, from Northern Ireland, noticed the subtle trick during a tour of the gardens and shared footage of the ‘secret windows’ on her TikTok account

Sharing a comparison shot of the half-frosted window, she wrote: I’m on the Kensington Palace tour. Look at the secret windows they have to make sure you can’t see into Kate & Will’s private garden to the right. They have it on all the windows in this room.’

Royal author Ingrid Seward has also said: ‘It’s enormous… and it’s like a piece of countryside in London.’

Royal fans were treated to a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s London home in 2016, when they entertained US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle in their drawing room.

The property was refurbished with £4.5million of taxpayers’ money – although the couple footed the bill for fixtures and furnishing themselves. 

Kate, 39, had the help of an interior designer, but the look didn’t appear to be particularly grand and far from palatial, more comfortable country home.

The cream sofas were littered with floral cushions, while a large hexagonal footstool was added to the middle of their drawing room.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Kensington Palace apartment is ‘enormous’ with ’20 rooms from the basement to the attic’, royal experts have claimed. Kate and William shared a glimpse of their separate home offices at the property earlier this year, seen above

Prince William, 39, and Kate (pictured in 2016, when the couple hosted US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle at their home), 38, live with their children in the private home – number 1A – when staying in London

A general view of the State Apartments of Kensington Palace and Apartment 1A in 2013, when  refurbishment works were being carried out

In the corner was a baby grand piano covered with family photographs and flowers, indicating it was more decorative than anything else. 

The side tables were also filled with pictures including a young Prince William with a shock of blonde hair. The couple even had a drinks tray in the corner of the drawing room – which contained bottles of £12 Smirnoff vodka and £14 Gordon’s gin. 

Apartment 1A is a spacious four-storey property with its own large south-facing walled garden. It takes up half the Clock Tower wing designed by Sir Christopher Wren for King William and Queen Mary.

From Prince William and Kate to The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester: The Royals who live at Kensington Palace

London’s Kensington Palace currently houses more than 10 members of the royal family and has been a royal residence since the 1600s. 

The Kensington Palace grounds include a range of separate properties, from humble cottages to Apartment 1A occupied by Prince William and his family.

London’s Kensington Palace currently houses more than 10 members of the royal family (pictured above) and has been a royal residence since the 1600s

Apartment 1A: Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

The family of five arguably have the best apartment in Kensington Palace with 20 rooms and a view of Hyde Park.

William and Kate moved to the palace in October 2013 after George was born, but the public rarely get the opportunity to see inside.

However, photographs were taken when the couple hosted Barack and Michelle Obama in 2016 and we saw Prince George his dressing gown meet the former US President. 

The Old Stables: The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester 

The Duke, a first cousin of the Queen, and his wife live in the Old Stables, an historic cottage in the grounds of the palace.

The Gloucesters moved into the cottage last year after vacating their previous home at Apartment 1, where they were neighbours with the Cambridges. 

Apartment 10: Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

Prince Michael of Kent, another cousin of The Queen, also lives in the main palace building with his wife, referred to with the traditional name Princess Michael, in Apartment 10.

Apartment 10 has five bedrooms and five reception rooms with one room once being available for rent at a reported £10,000 per month.

Wren House: The Duke and Duchess of Kent

Prince Michael’s older brother, The Duke of Kent resides with his wife in the grounds of Kensington Palace at Wren House, named after the architect Christopher Wren.

Although details have never been revealed about this home, it is about the same size as Nottingham and Ivy Cottages.