Prince Harry wrote in his autobiography Spare that his former home, Nottingham Cottage, was not as grand as the Buckingham Palace apartment his brother Prince William shared with his wife, Kate Middleton, and their children. He claimed he was “embarrassed” by the 17th-century “palace adjacent” residence he lived in since 2013. However, did he have to live there? A royal commentator weighs in.
Prince Harry’s Nottingham Cottage abode was a far cry from Prince William’s Buckingham Palace apartment
Royal commentator Daniela Elser took a deep dive into information released via the Sovereign Grant that a grander and empty apartment was available for use inside Kensington Palace. However, Prince Harry remained at Nottingham Cottage with Meghan Markle for months after their 2018 wedding. Did the couple have to live in Harry’s former bachelor pad?
“The release of the Grant report served as a reminder that for four years, a vast Palace apartment just as large as Willy’s big one has been sitting empty. A property that could well have been the duke and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s home,” Elser wrote.
In Spare, Harry tried to prove a point about how the royal family treated him by using Nottingham Cottage as an example. He discussed the first time he welcomed Meghan Markle to his home.
“I was excited to welcome Meg to my home but also embarrassed: Nott Cott was no palace. Nott Cott was palace adjacent,” Harry wrote.
“That was the best you could say for it. To my relief, she made no sign of dismay, gave no indication of disillusionment,” the Duke of Sussex continued.
However, after visiting William and Kate at their 20-room Kensington Palace apartment, Harry noted a different reaction from his then-girlfriend. “I saw Meg’s eyes widen as we entered their front door, walked past their front sitting room, down their hallway, into their study. ‘Wow,’ Meg said several times.”
Incidentally, Prince William and Kate Middleton lived at Nottingham Cottage from 2011 through 2013. They welcomed their son Prince George to the home before moving to Kensington Palace. In 2023, the couple subsequently moved to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
There was an apartment right next to Prince William and Kate Middleton that could have been Prince Harry’s
A 21-room apartment, vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who lived at Buckingham Palace for more than 40 years, was empty and available for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle if they wanted it. Therefore, the couple was not relegated to live at Nottingham Cottage, a home that dates back to the 17th century.
Elser wrote, “It was reported the empty-nester Gloucesters were set to leave their long-term home to make way for the higher-ranked Sussexes. In fact, $2.6 million was reportedly spent on repairs to the roof, replacing windows, and removing asbestos.”
She continued, “That hit the skids when Harry and Meghan instead decided to abandon London to live close to the Heathrow flight path. Instead, they moved to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate.”
Harry shared details in Spare regarding his wishes for a new residence. “I told [Queen Elizabeth] we’d discussed our housing situation with the Palace. We’d been offered several properties, but each was too grand, we thought. Too lavish. And too expensive to renovate”.
Ultimately, months after their wedding, Harry and Meghan moved to Frogmore Cottage. Queen Elizabeth’s gift to the couple underwent a $4M renovation, reportedly paid for by the Sovereign Grant. Harry and Meghan later repaid the grant’s money after stepping back from their duties as senior royals in 2020.
Elser explained, “What the Grant report reminds us is that so much, if not everything, was essentially served up to Harry and Meghan on a silver salver by a liveried footman, and yet they still felt they were hard done by.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly evicted from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles
After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left royal life behind and moved to California, their Frogmore Cottage home remained vacant. It was used only a handful of times by the Sussexes during several returns to the United Kingdom.
In February 2023, The Sun reported that King Charles evicted Harry and Meghan from the residence. The home was a gift to the couple from Queen Elizabeth for their May 2018 wedding.
The couple lived in the five-bedroom home for six months before exiting their royal roles. First, they moved to Canada before settling in Montecito, CA.
Since settling in the elite California town with their son Prince Archie, the couple has welcomed a second child. Princess Lilibet was born in June 2021.
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