Real reason Kate Middleton and Prince William left their London home in huge move

and moved to Windsor two years ago - leaving their lavish apartment in behind and moving into the much smaller Adelaide Cottage. While the couple have kept their London home, they are no longer based there permanently - and there is one major reason why experts have claimed.

When the couple took the plunge and moved their young family to Windsor the decision "surprised everyone" one expert has said, but the future King and Queen's choice was based on what worked best for their three young children: , 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Part of the surprise that was generated by the couple's decision came from the choice of their new property itself - with Adelaide Cottage much more modest than what the family were used to in London. Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace - their former home - is pretty lavish: spanning over four floors and boasting 20 rooms, it's the biggest property in the palace complex.

In comparison, Adelaide Cottage only has four bedrooms and no space for any live-in members of staff - which means that Kate and William are likely doing a lot of things for themselves once their aides go home for the day. Despite being a much more modest property - by the Royal Family's standards at least - it had serious appeal to the Wales family: privacy.

"They are very, very happy there. Being able to live in the middle of Windsor Home Park, where they're not overlooked and can come and go in complete privacy, makes the downsize from Kensington Palace worth it on every level," royal author Katie Nicholl explained to . "There's not a huge amount of space, but Adelaide Cottage ticks all the right boxes."

Each year, Kensington Palace gets hundreds of thousands of visitors who are keen to see the site, which is rich with royal history and was the birthplace of Queen Victoria. However, despite the welcome throngs of tourists and royal fans, this meant that there were a lot of eyes upon the Wales family whilst it was their permanent base, and given their dedication to their role as parents, it's no surprise they were keen to move their children somewhere more private, which afford the three youngsters a little more normality.

"I think they surprised a lot of people when they moved there," royal expert Duncan Larcombe explained to OK. “There are plenty of other places they could have moved to, but Adelaide Cottage fits with their desire as parents to be a normal family, where there aren’t servants and they don't have 30 rooms. William would much rather have his kids around him, in the rooms next door to where he’s sleeping."

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