Windsor Castle is one of the most famous royal residences in the world, and the estate is currently home to everyone from the Prince and Princess of Wales to Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. The vast Berkshire estate is comprised of a number of properties, including huge mansions and cosier cottages, which the late Queen gifted to her loved ones over the years.
Among them is Frogmore Cottage, which she gifted to Prince Harry and Meghan following their wedding back in 2018. However, according to reports the couple actually requested a different property, but Queen Elizabeth II deemed it “inappropriate” and “firmly” rejected it.
According to The Times, the soon-to-be Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to live within Windsor Castle itself and reportedly asked if “living quarters could be made available after their marriage”. At the time, only the Queen and Prince Philip had private apartments within the actual castle, with everyone else living elsewhere on the estate.
The paper went on to report that the monarch “politely but firmly suggested” that they live in nearby Frogmore Cottage instead.
A further claim about the late Queen’s decision to give her grandson and his wife the impressive home as a wedding gift was made in royal expert Katie’s Nicholl’s book, The New Royals.
Nicholl wrote that the late Lady Elizabeth Anson, who died in 2020, said the Queen described the Windsor home as a “big deal” and shared her hopes that Harry and Meghan would “respect” her generosity.
Lady Elizabeth is quoted as saying: “The cottage was a big deal. The Queen’s entrance into the gardens is right next to their cottage. It is essentially her back yard, 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.'”
After the couple stepped back from their senior roles in 2020, it was reported that they had been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage by King Charles in 2023.
