Why Catherine and Prince William are returning to their first marital home

Catherine and Prince William
(Image credit: REX/Shutterstock)

Ever since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met way back in 2001, they've shared a whole host of homes together.

The first was their shared university house, and they now call Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace home, as well as Anmer Hall in Norfolk, their country retreat.

But after marrying in 2011, their first proper home together was a modest cottage in the rolling hills of Anglesey, in North Wales.

And now, the couple will return to the area for the second time since leaving in 2013, for an official royal visit.

Catherine and William are set to head to both Anglesey and Caernarfon for a day trip on Wednesday 8th May, to visit local people and organisations there who are working to protect the environment.

At Caernarfon, the royal couple will visit the search and rescue helicopter base there, before travelling to Anglesey to visit a local sea salt business.

Prince William worked as an RAF search and rescue pilot between 2010 - 2013 at Anglesey, before the operation moved in 2015. So it'll likely be a poignant visit for the future King!

After the Duke's job came to an end, he and Catherine gave up their first marital home to move back to Kensington Palace, before the birth of Prince George.

However, it was clearly a very special place for the royal couple, with Prince William thanking locals at the timen for being so welcoming to him and his wife, explaining that they would miss the area terribly.

Back in 2013, he said, "I know that I speak for Catherine when I say I have never in my life known somewhere as beautiful and as welcoming as Anglesey.

"I know that both of us will miss it terribly when my search and rescue tour of duty comes to an end next month and we have to move elsewhere. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making my wife and me so welcome when we arrived here."

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.