As any viewer of The Crown will tell you, the many homes and palaces belonging to the Windsors are already full of furniture, but understandably, not much of it is kid-friendly. That's why Prince William and Kate Middleton got Prince George and Princess Charlotte furnishings in Kensington Palace from a much more inexpensive source: Ikea. Yes, royals and recent grads have at least one store in common.
On the Swedish leg of their current royal tour, the couple, currently expecting their third child, stopped by ArkDes, the national museum of architecture and design in Stockholm. There they toured "an exhibition of a competition for young Swedish designers which Ikea has been involved with since it began 20 years ago," per U.K. outlet the Mirror. Before the royal visit, Marcus Engman, Ikea's head of design, mused, "It would be nice to know if they have any IKEA furniture. I know that the royals in Sweden have. Why would it not be possible for them? There is a great variety. Our beds are really good, and affordable. You get a lot for your money there."
Affordability probably isn't a huge factor for the duke and duchess of Cambridge, but after the tour Engman revealed that they told him they "have Ikea pieces for the children's rooms" and expressed interest in the Ikea design process. "I'm proud that we can suit everybody," said Engman. "That's what we want Ikea to be—for the many people of the world, both royalty and ordinary people." The royal couple also offered their condolences on the recent passing of Ingvar Kamprad, who founded the furniture giant when he was just 17 years old.
The Mirror's "royal source" said that Engman's recollection was "very plausible" (whatever that means) but couldn't confirm which, if any, Ikea pieces Charlotte and George have. Maybe they just didn't want to start a run on Mammuts or Stuvas or whatever; items Kate picks tend to sell out, after all.
Now, what we'd really like to know is, did Will and Kate assemble this Ikea furniture themselves?
Related: Kate Middleton Reportedly Donated 7 Inches of Her Hair to Charity in Secret
