Kate Middleton and Prince William Have Twin Beds on the Royal Train

published 8 December 2020

Kate Middleton and Prince William are on tour on the Royal Train.
The train isn't quite as luxurious as it was in the Victorian era; in fact, the Cambridges sleep in "his and hers" twin beds while onboard.
Since setting off from London's Euston Station on Sunday, they've already stopped in Edinburgh, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Batley, Manchester, and Cardiff.

Kate Middleton and Prince William are currently on their third day of tour aboard the Royal Train, traveling across England, Scotland, and Wales to thank people working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. But while "Royal Train" might conjure images of four poster beds and rich mahogany furniture and velvet absolutely everywhere, it's actually a little more austere than that. In fact, according to People, the Cambridges will be sleeping separately onboard the train: their suite features "his and hers" twin beds.

The original Royal Train was just as lavish as you might expect: In Queen Victoria's day, People reports, the train was decorated to mirror Buckingham Palace, draped in silks and satin and finished in 23-carat gold paint, a thing I did not know existed until just now. The carriages have been replaced over the years, with the current nine-carriage train dating back to the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 (succeeding a previous set in use since 1941). The current train's a little less "23-carat gold paint," a little more "perfectly nice hotel you'd stay in on a business trip." While, unsurprisingly, there's no photos of the royals' bedrooms floating about the internet, you can take a look at the 12-seat dining room and the staff bedrooms, as pictured below:

the dining room aboard the bio fuel powered royal train that will take the prince of wales on a tour of britain to promote his sustainable living initiative start photo by danny lawsonpa images via getty images

carlisle, england september 06 a bed is made in staff accommodations aboard the bio fuel powered royal train arriving at carlisle station before leaving for scotland to pick up prince charles, prince of wales on september 6, 2010 in carlisle, england prince charles embarked today on a five day tour of the uk to promote sustainable living the prince will be travelling on the royal train which is powered by bio fuel as he takes his tour to cities and towns from glasgow to london photo by danny lawson wpa poolgetty images

The Cambridges have already made an impressive amount of stops since setting off from London's Euston Station on Sunday: They met Scottish Ambulance Staff in Edinburgh, visited schoolchildren in Berwick-upon-Tweed, spoke to NHS volunteers in Batley, chatted to food distribution volunteers in Manchester, and have just arrived in Cardiff for another day of visits. No doubt they're sleeping well in those twin beds when they make it back to the train!