Inside Mustique, the Secluded Private Island Where Prince William and Other Celebs Vacation

Bailey BujnosekTue, August 25, 2026 at 12:40 PM UTC

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Prince William and Kate Middleton in the Bahamas on March 26, 2022.Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesThe Gist -

Prince William and Kate Middleton are the latest royals to treat the Caribbean island of Mustique as their go-to vacation spot.

Previously, Queen Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, helped popularize the island among the jet-setting crowd by building a luxurious villa there.

Today, the Kardashian-Jenners, Biebers, and Jaggers have been known to visit the tropical getaway—with villas charging in the tens of thousands for a weeklong stay.

Royals and celebrities cross paths on a regular basis, including on vacation.

The Caribbean island of Mustique is a go-to vacation spot for Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as Kendall Jenner, Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, and Justin and Hailey Bieber. A large part of its appeal—besides being a sun-dappled tropical paradise—is that it’s kept private from paparazzi, meaning high-profile visitors can enjoy their holidays without intrusion from the press.

Its popularity can largely be credited to another royal: Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth. In 1959, the free-spirited Margaret was given a plot of land by Mustique community founder Colin Tennant as a wedding gift, per Vogue. Her holiday home there, Les Jolies Eaux, became a beloved retreat from the global spotlight. In 2024, it re-opened as a vacation rental, charging between $33,000 to $47,000 per week.

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall on a beach in Mustique, 18th February 1987.Credit: Getty Images

While those who go to Mustique are paying a high price for privacy, brush-ins with other A-listers on the Grenadian island are inevitable. The late David Bowie owned a property on the island that’s now available to rent, preserved as it was when he lived there. Kate Moss reportedly held her 50th birthday pre-celebration on the island in early 2024. Suki Waterhouse and Cara Delevingne have gone there for New Year’s Eve parties, while model Ally Hilfiger hosted her wedding there in 2017. Stumble down the sand to the landmark bar, Basil’s or to Cotton House, Mustique’s only hotel, and you’re guaranteed to spot at least one red-carpet regular on any given night.

Ahead, learn more about the history of Mustique, the stars who’ve frequented its exclusive shores, and the royal side of it all.

Socialite Colin Tennant bought the island of Mustique in 1958 for £45,000.

Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, and his wife Anne, on Mustique in March 1973.Credit: Slim Aarons/Getty Images

Tennant, also known as Lord Glenconner, had ambitious visions for Mustique when he purchased the island in 1958 for £45,000. Per Vice UK, he developed its agriculture and fisheries while attracting royal and celebrity alike to build a holiday home there. (He was even one of the rumored potential suitors of Princess Margaret, although nothing ever materialized.)

The eccentric Tennant is the subject of the Channel 4 documentary The Man Who Bought Mustique. He died in August 2010, having “maintained friendly contact with Princess Margaret until her death in 2002,” according to his obituary in The Guardian.

Princess Margaret had Oliver Messel design her $2 million royal residence on the island.

Princess Margaret showing Queen Elizabeth ll around the island of Mustique in 1977.Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Margaret had uncle-in-law Oliver Messel design her a fabulous villa on the southern tip of the island. Per Elle Decor, he started the project in 1969 and completed it in the early ‘70s. The guest buildings are low and trapezoidal, keeping Mustique’s natural Caribbean beauty at the forefront.

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“This is my house,” the princess once said of Les Jolies Eaux (French for “The Beautiful Waters”), according to Architectural Digest, adding that it was “the only square inch in the world I own.”

Unfortunately, Margaret’s time in Mustique was also laced with scandal due to the rare intrusion by photographers—in 1976, she and Roddy Llewellyn were pictured vacationing there, per Town & Country. Their alleged relationship of eight years became tabloid fodder. Despite this misstep, Margaret continued to visit Mustique twice a year.

“She felt inordinate love and pride that this was not from the royal family, it was not her sister’s, it was not grace and favor. She loved the fact it was her own,” Tatiana Copeland, a Mustique resident since the ‘80s, told Town & Country in 2019. The royal gifted Les Jolies Eaux to her son, David Linley, in 1996. She died five years later. The property has since been sold to non-royal owners who continue to offer it up as a luxurious rental.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are frequent visitors.

Princess Kate and Prince William on a visit to Honiara, Guadalcanal Island, in September 2012.Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Keeping the royal connection to Mustique alive are none other than William and Kate, who’ve been going there since 2008, per People. In 2019, Vanity Fair reported that they’d vacationed there several years in a row, including when son Prince George turned six. It’s unknown if they stayed at William’s great-aunt’s former haunt.

More recently, in February 2025, the couple reportedly skipped the BAFTAs to retreat as a family to the island, which has also hosted Ariana Grande, Demi Moore, and Harry Styles. The privacy is undoubtedly a draw, as well as the family history.

According to People, William and Kate like to take advantage of the island’s sportier amenities, including tennis, horseback riding, and snorkeling. “They had a wonderful villa that overlooked a very quiet beach,” a fellow guest told the outlet in 2015, adding, “It is a very simple life. We saw them up by their villa and occasionally on the beach. They were pretty much allowed to be left alone.”

Celebrities kick back at local hotspot Basil’s or in their own luxury villas.

Yachts in Britannia Bay, off the Caribbean island of Mustique, 1989.Credit: Slim Aarons/Getty Images

Basil’s bar is the center of all the action on Mustique—the site of after-after parties and festive celebrations. The former owner, Basil Charles, told Surfacein 2025, “Celebrities come here because they can be themselves and not worry about the cameras or newspapers.”

At no time is Basil’s starrier than on New Year’s Eve. In the mid-2010s, per W, it was a British supermodel and socialite hotspot for the likes of Delevingne, Moss, Lily Donaldson, and more. The outlet also reports Taylor Swift, Bill Gates, Victoria Beckham, and Daniel Craig among Mustique’s trendiest visitors or homeowners.

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