Prince William lives a life of luxury with a team of staff around him and an eight-bedroom country manor to call home. However, in 2000, his arrangements were a little more basic, would you believe?
The Millennium was the year that the Prince of Wales took himself off for a gap year after successfully passing his A-levels. He began with a trip to the Belize jungle, where he slept in a hammock and ate army rations alongside the Welsh Guard and then William volunteered with the charity Raleigh International to build new walkways and teach English in a mountain village in the south of Chile. Check out his surprising living conditions…
In unearthed photographs from when William was 18 years old, he can be seen in the kitchen of his team’s accommodation in the village of Tortel, stirring a pot, wearing a casual navy fleece. The very basic conditions were clear to see – a far cry from his palace surroundings back home.
In another image, the prince was seen cleaning a toilet on his hands and knees, wearing a pair of Marigolds. A very rare photograph of a member of the royal family getting stuck into basic chores. But it turns out this wasn’t just for the sake of the media attention.
In Kate: The Future Queen, Malcolm Sutherland, who ran the expeditions the Prince undertook, said of William: “William coped very well, and what struck me about him was how normal he was. He said he wanted to be treated like everyone else, and he was. When you saw him cleaning the toilets, it wasn’t for the cameras, he really did clean the lavatories.”
© UK Press via Getty Images“When you saw him cleaning the toilets, it wasn’t for the cameras, he really did clean the lavatories.”
Where does Prince William live now?
William and Kate, along with their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, moved into Forest Lodge in Windsor at the end of 2025.
The eight-bed home set within Great Windsor Park will stay mostly private, for the sake of their young family, but images of the outside show it has a sweeping driveway, arched windows on the ground floor and a white front door.
© Getty ImagesAhead of their arrival, a range of security measures were put in place. Firstly, a huge wooden fence was erected to close off the woods and green space around the Grade II-listed Georgian house. Additionally, trees were added for privacy purposes. Special CCTV cameras have also been installed to police the perimeter.
Plus, the no-fly zone above their home has also been expanded. This restriction not only applies to helicopters and hot air balloons, but also to drones, which were originally able to get close enough to the residence to obtain photos.
Additionally, an access way into the Windsor Great Park has been permanently closed for security reasons, and it was this change that left residents unhappy. According to The Sun, there was no notice, and an order read: “Due to the pending designation of part of the Great Park as an exclusion area, access via Cranbourne Gate will permanently cease.”
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