When the Duchess of Sussex reportedly set her sights on living in one particular royal home, the late Queen is said to have dashed her hopes, according to an expert
Despite being a senior working royal for only a few years, Meghan Markle lived like royalty during her time in the Firm, enjoying all the perks that come with being a member of the royal family.
After her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, the Sussexes called two royal residences home, despite it being less than two years between their nuptials and their dramatic exit from the royal family in 2020.
Before their star-studded Windsor wedding, Meghan moved in with Harry when he lived in his humble Nottingham Cottage home on the Kensington Palace estate, which is where he popped the question to his bride-to-be. It comes after Prince Harry’s devastating loss in royal rift was exposed as Meghan ‘holds the cards’.
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A few months after they tied the knot, the couple then relocated to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor royal estate, having been gifted the property by Queen Elizabeth II.
While the Duke and Duchess ended up being very fond of Frogmore Cottage, The Times reported that the newlyweds originally had their sights set on another royal residence to call home.
As has been widely reported in the past, Meghan was said to have wanted to live at Windsor Castle, with the Sussexes asking if “living quarters could be made available after their marriage”.
The late Queen Elizabeth II apparently “firmly” rejected this possibility, as she found the request “inappropriate”, as at the time, only the Queen and Prince Philip had private apartments within the castle.
Royal author and historian Hugo Vickers previously told The Times : “There are empty bedrooms and suites in the private apartments which the Sussexes may have had their eye on, or perhaps some former living quarters in the castle grounds converted into other things.
“But I can see how it might not be entirely appropriate to have a young family living there.” The newspaper reported that according to royal aides, Windsor represents “a special place” for the Sussexes as that’s where they got married and where they held Archie’s christening.
In a book titled The New Royals, royal expert Katie Nicholl spoke of the late Queen’s decision to give Frogmore to Harry and Meghan. Quoting Lady Elizabeth Anson, who died in 2020, Katie penned: “The cottage was a big deal. The Queen’s entrance into the gardens is right next to their cottage. It is essentially her backyard, her solitude, and her privacy.
“She was giving that up in gifting Harry and Meghan Frogmore Cottage. We all thought it was very big of her. She said ‘I hope they’ll respect it’.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were very content in Frogmore, as Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare: “We loved that place. From the first minute. It felt as if we were destined to live there.
“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.”