Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Frogmore home was too small for Prince William and Princess Kate
By Katie Daly,
2024-08-29
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 's former home at Frogmore Cottage is worlds away from their current luxury pad in Montecito.
It is where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lived in their newlywed phase after having been gifted the bolthole by the late Queen upon their wedding in 2018.
Frogmore Cottage, though not to be sniffed at, is one of the smaller royal properties on the Windsor Home Park estate and has had many past royal occupants.
The Prince and Princess of Wales live at the nearby Adelaide Cottage with their three children - Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis. However, it has been reported that the future king and queen weren't able to accept the home ahead of the Sussexes as it was too small for their family of five.
Their current 19th-century abode at Adelaide Cottage features four bedrooms, including a master bedroom with gilded dolphins and ropes from the former royal yacht on the ceiling.
The Waleses' country retreat at Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk is an even grander affair. The Georgian property, with an impressive exterior featuring 13 bay windows, boasts 10 bedrooms, a tennis court, and an outdoor pool.
Prince Harry and Meghan's life at Frogmore
Despite Harry and Meghan stepping down from senior royal duties during their residency at Frogmore, the Duke of Sussex has revealed that the cosy rural home holds special memories for the couple.
Prince William's brother reflected on moving into their picturesque Windsorian home in his memoir, Spare.
"Frogmore was ready. We loved that place. From the first minute. It felt as if we were destined to live there," the royal dad of two penned.
"We couldn’t wait to wake up in the morning, go for a long walk in the gardens, check in with the swans. Especially grumpy Steve. We met the Queen’s gardeners, got to know their names and the names of all the flowers. They were thrilled at how much we appreciated, and praised, their artistry."
The estate also holds sentimental ties for the pair as they shot their engagement photos at the neighbouring Frogmore House and it is where they lived during Meghan's pregnancy with Archie and throughout the first months of his life.
Though when Frogmore was built under the orders of Queen Charlotte in 1801 it had 10 bedrooms, during the Sussexes' occupancy, it had five with an orangery and a vegetable garden.
The parents of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet previously lived at Harry's residence at Nottingham Cottage, in Kensington Palace.
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