A million royal stories broke over the long holiday weekend, so we’re going to do this in phases, or chapters. Because if I tried to do everything in a mega-royal thread, I would lose my mind and I would probably miss half the gossip. So, for months now, I’ve been wondering why there was no confirmation about where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would live, because obviously they could not stay in the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage. There was some speculation about how Harry and Meghan could possibly move into the large “apartment” next to William and Kate at Kensington Palace, but we heard that the Cambridges AND the Sussexes had no desire to live that close to each other. Well, now we know where Meghan and Harry are headed: Frogmore Cottage, at Windsor Castle, which is where the Sussexes staged their engagement portraits. Huh.
Prince Harry is splitting from brother William by leaving Kensington Palace. The brothers have always been incredibly close, but Harry and Meghan are setting up their home in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Queen has given them Frogmore Cottage, which is having a multi-million pound refit paid for by the taxpayer. It will provide ten bedrooms and a nursery for their baby, due in April. The couple are expected to move in next year.
A royal source said: “The initial plan was for Harry and Meghan to move out of their cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace and into one of the main apartments. But there has been a bit of tension between the brothers. Now Harry and Meghan don’t want to live next to William and Kate and want to strike out on their own. The cosy cottage the pair currently live in as previously home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before the couple moved into a 20-room apartment inside the palace.
“They need more room and hope Frogmore Cottage will be ready in time for when they have the baby.”
Frogmore Cottage needs major building work to turn it back into a luxury family home, boasting 10 bedrooms & a new nursery plus space for a gym & yoga studio. Currently it’s been chopped up into 5 units where palace staff have been living.
The Sun’s exclusive was later confirmed by the palace, and this was the official statement: “Windsor is a very special place for Their Royal Highnesses and they are grateful that their official residence will be on the estate.” It’s not shocking to me that the Queen has finally given them a larger space, with room for a nursery and space to grow. The fact that the Sussexes are being shuffled off to Windsor though… that’s a surprise. It’s not that Windsor Castle is so far away from central London – the journey, according to Google, is about 40 minutes by car – it’s that this move to Frogmore Cottage will leave Harry and Meghan without a home anywhere in central London. This doesn’t have the same feel as when William and Kate suddenly decided to live full-time at Anmer Hall several years back, which was the Cambridges’ choice and it was a choice that seemed to leave the senior royals in shock. This has the feel of Meghan and Harry being physically pushed aside.
The other argument, perhaps, is that Meghan and Harry don’t want to be in London right now, and they don’t want to raise the Royal Polo Baby in central London. Us Weekly has claimed for a few months that Meghan and Harry have been wanting to make a full-time move to “the country” and they want to raise their kids “out of the public eye….They never loved living in London. They enjoy their time in the country much more than the city and feel most at home there.” Very curious. We will have more in upcoming posts. Please don’t threadjack.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Harry & Meghan are a bunch of scroungers no different from the rest of the family. The renovations to their new property will cost the British taxpayers millions, this is probably why KP released the statement on a Saturday when people are less likely to pay attention to news stories. Harry has his inheritance money & Meghan is supposedly worth millions so why can’t they pay for the renovations themselves. This is what annoys me about the royal family that despite their personal wealth it is the taxpayers that always ends up footing the bill to renovate their private homes. This shouldn’t be allowed.
Hasn’t it been reveled that the renovation is from a private investment or something – so it not costing the taxpayers anything. Also from what I read, it a simple case of turning the place from offices back to a family home.
It’s not offices – royal staff live there at the moment.
It has been confirmed that the renovations will be funded by the sovereign grant which is an annual fund given to the monarch by the government in order to fund the Monarch’s official duties. It is rightly contentious that renovating their private homes should be included in the sovereign grant.
@Sarddine I read that the property is vacant. it had been divided up into staff apartments but no staff live there currently. Photos make the property look abandoned and the weeds and lawn overgrown.
“Hasn’t it been reveled that the renovation is from a private investment or something – so it not costing the taxpayers anything.”
This isn’t true. We (Brits) pay for their renovations, we did the same for W&K. I remember there were valid criticisms and a backlash of sorts.
How come no one here remembers the Queen gifting Harry and Meghan a Cottage on Windsor grounds (and I thought it was Adelaide Cottage) shortly after their wedding? At the time it was considered by the media to be proof of the Queen’s fondness for the couple because the cottage is fairly close to the Queen’s residence. I was surprised when all of the ‘they’re moving into another apartment, scandal!’ talk began here. I thought “Why would they move into another apartment when the Queen has gifted them with a roomy cottage?” Should Harry and Meghan have said no to the Queen’s gift?
Here’s an article from June 2018 about the Queen’s gift of a cottage:
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a22515447/meghan-markle-prince-harry-adelaide-cottage-windsor-photos-facts/
Yvette, that is all speculation and about the wrong cottage. The Queen cannot “gift” them anything at Windsor as she doesn’t own it. She can arrange for them to have a lease on a property owned by the Crown Estate, as was done for Andrew and Edward.
I feel exactly the same way when I am expected to pay for the non stop golfing trips to personal properties of Trump. Maybe If it was once in while but it’s ALL the time, I know it’s different as he is personally profiting while charging taxpayers for secret service room & board but same concept. Tax payers enriching the crown by renovating The Queen’s private estate.
As a non-Brit, alls I know is that I would not want my tax dollars going to the many “insiders” and their homes and salary.
As a tax payer in the USA, I hate it every day when I think that my tax money that could go to help underprivileged children, ect is being used every day to protect Don the Con and his entire crime family. We have to protect the Dotard with his golfing trips, ect about 300+ days so far and this is just protection. We have to pay for wife #3 protection plus staying one day in a hotel for about $100,000. We pay for son #1 and his children, son #2, and his children, and son #3. We have to pay for daughter#1 and her husband and children, and daughter #2. All the grandkids have SS protection and this will go on years after they are kicked out of the White House. To me it appears the RF is cheep, 😂 compared to what we are funding for this crime family.
@BNA Fan at least there is a democratic process where the option of voting out the US president exists & there is a two term limit. The monarchy is not democratic & the royals sponge on the state for life!
Mayo, I hear you. However, don’t we have to protect this crime family forever. I bet after he leaves office we will have to pay to protect the entire family forever.
Isn’t that done for every president?
I remember the carrying on when Will and Kate renovated because they aren’t as liked here either. That’s the pattern, if someone is liked all kinds of excuses are made, if not then it’s horrible I tell you.
@B and A agreed. And the fake first lady mainly stays in NYC and the extra secret service there also costs so much.
It’s utterly ridiculous that two people somehow require a 10 bedroom ‘cottage’ – which OBVIOUSLY requires a multi million pound refit (paid for by the sovereign fund i.e tax payer ££). Most thirty somethings can only DREAM of a two bedroom flat, let alone ‘cottage’ in central London (and I’m talking people making 6 figure salaries, nor normies like teachers and nurses).
Only goes to show that these two are just as detached from reality (or don’t give a toss) as W+K. Super disappointing – although don’t know why I’m even surprised. And I LIKE Megan. Ugh.
I feel the same – why do Royals always have to undertake extensive renovations ($$$) to every single home they move into? It must be nice to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on whatever you want! And to those who will say Oh but the cottage is currently broken down into apartments. Um, the Royal Family owns tons of amazing real estate, why not chose something that doesn’t’ require millions of dollars in renos?
It’s almost like they know they are not accountable to anyone !
It is five bedrooms. But ten bedrooms would not be too much ….staff, nursery, guests rooms, places to store clothing etc.
HM is famously remiss in her maintenance of royal properties. It’s entirely possible that the only habitable royal residences are already occupied.
From what I gather, a lot of the property under the monarchy has fallen into disarray. Isn’t Buckingham Palace about to (or did?) under go renovations? I remember something about it needing a new roof.
Not trying to take a side on this and yes @Megan and @M.A.S, they’re in need of repairs. What I read yesterday is the renovations to fix the building is public money and the decor etc. will be their money.
Given the huge increase in homelessness in the UK at the moment, which is staring everyone in the face every time we walk through a large town or city, I think this is completely disgusting! People are committing suicide because they’re being moved onto universal credit. Two adults and a baby do not need a 10 bedroom cottage and that money could help to get so many people back on their feet. The royals are fun to watch but this kind of thing brings it all back down to earth. They claim to care about equality and wellbeing but won’t say no to taxpayers millions at the expense of those who are really in need.
Very true, i was all emotional watching footage of Meghan at the Hub kitchen, but this just put everything back into perspective.
All royal philanthropy is done without ever dipping into their own pockets, yet they come away with us singing their praises for the 45 mins of “work” they deign to do. The charity work casts an undeserved glow upon them, masking the fact that they are the biggest benefits recipients of them all.
Why cant the taxpayers money be limited to only supporting the queen and maybe her direct heir, in this case Charles.
The rest of them should earn a living like the rest of us. None of what they do is essential, people in other countries manage to give to charity without being prompted to by a royal.
@MrsBump If the Royals want to act like they’re working for a charity then surely they should work like all other non profits do. They have their basic needs and expenses covered and no more. Very few of the royals even work full time. Most probably the Queen, Prince Charles and Princess Anne are the only ones that really do what most Brits would consider a full time job.
Mrs B, Why the suggestion of even the direct heir? It appears you are suggesting dumping M & H but why even the Queen, Charles and William, why would they be entitled compared to anyone else? The money they have is enormous and unearned by what they do as you point out.
@gm
Frankly none of them deserve a dime 😉
I was lumping in poor charles as a stand-by for the queen but really all this money spent on their upkeep is ridiculous.
When the expenses are out at the end of the year, expect reports of how they only cost each brit only 50p or something. This is such a con.
The Queen publicly gifted a Cottage (and I thought it was Adelaide Cottage) to Harry and Meghan shortly after their wedding. So what would be the reason for secrecy?
Here’s an article from June 2018 about the Queen’s gift of a cottage at Windsor:
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a22515447/meghan-markle-prince-harry-adelaide-cottage-windsor-photos-facts/
Hmm. I didn’t get the impression Harry and Meg were being shoved out. It really seems Windsor is special to them. Besides, I wouldn’t want to be a 30-something newlywed living next door to my brother and his family.
I agree. They might just want to live a little further out from the business of London. A lot of royal relatives live at Kensington, so maybe the Sussexes just want a little more privacy.
… but he will be a 30 something newly wed living next to his grandma.
Whatever the reasoning it’s not to get away from family in general.
They all live under the giant Windsor umbrella on various royal grounds, but this cottage is not attached to Windsor Castle, it’s a distance away. Far different from sharing a wall with Big Bro and a courtyard with nosey racist Auntie Mike.
Living in a “cottage” on the grounds of a castle isn’t really the same as living next door to. They will have their own house.
I live directly next to the windsor castle grounds – I drive past the discrete side entrance where they would come out every day – and i can assure you it is not like living next to grandma! The grounds are huge and beautiful and very private. I don’t blame them one bit – would much rather live there than in the middle of London on grounds with lots of other people!
I don’t get the sense they are being shoved out. Windsor is one of the most beautiful and fairy tale-like properties in England. I know I would be delighted to live there.
I do sort of wonder if Harry is noncommittal on apt 1 because he is holding out for Clarence House.
Please god! Harry and Meghan in Clarence House…..Yes! But Charles may wish to continue to live there after he becomes King.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from The Crown is that you don’t get to keep living at Clarence House once you are the monarch.
Charles is no fool. He knows how much revenue would be raised by opening the Buckingham Palace state rooms to the public full time. It’s not 1952 any more.
There’s also no confirmation that they’d move out of Nottingham Cottage completely. That might be kept as their London home, like Andrew, Edward, Anne all have small spaces in London too.
I know if I had the choice…I would have made THIS choice myself!
Me too!
If I had a choice to live in the countryside or in the city – I would choose countryside. Plus Windsor isn’t that far from London so they can still get into the city to do events.
Most people (if they can) have 2 places – one in the city and one in the countryside. This is something the Royals follow as well so they wouldn’t be making a choice.
Not in London they can’t. Well I guess if you are an investment banker and can afford your city dwelling 2bed zone 1 £1m + then your abode in the country guess you can. I am a city girl NY / London IN the city but I can see them wanting more privacy but at least they don’t have to schlep into London daily as that WILL get old 2 hours easily in traffic.
They will still need a London base. They may hold on to Nott Cott.
Lives are going in different ndirections from heir and spare. Hopefully, they get to do their own thing without competition talk ad nauseum. This moves put Wills and Kate center stage with clear expectations of increased workloads
Indeed.
I hadn’t thought of that, but it does make sense. The press is running with that “Fab Four” nonsense, and this resets that message. They will not be interchangeable and inseparable. One is the heir to a kingdom with all the perks and responsibility, and the other is moving down the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone states on the record that Harry and Meghan’s children will have roles similar to Lady Louise and Viscount Severn—which is to say, no official role.
They will still need a London base. They may hold on to Nott Cott.
Good point.
Harry might be trying to avoid being like Andrew and might be trying to set his own distinct path in separating the courts and putting some physical distance between him and Will. Overall, this might be good for family harmony.
It has the feel to me of something they want and not something that is being foisted on them by outside forces. They chose to marry in Windsor and had their engagement photos done there. It seems they like the area. It’s also beautiful, private and close enough to commute into London for events. An easy ride if you have a driver.
The Queens children, other than Charles, all have similar primary homes in the country – and even Charles has Highgrove for the weekend. I am sure Harry and Meghan will have an apartment in central London somewhere.
If you have been to Kensington you know it’s in an upscale, central and beautiful part of London, but it’s not remotely private. There are tourists and Londoners right outside your gate and that weird nosey family commune within.
I’ve been to Windsor and it’s a beautiful place.
This is a great move.
Windsor is just magical!
Agree that this is something they want. Brilliant PR move actually – they get to live fairly private lives, without looking like lazy a-holes like W+K did when they moved to Anmer.
“I am sure Harry and Meghan will have an apartment in central London somewhere.”
KP has announced Frogmore as their official base. They do have a lease on their Cotswolds country home as well but reporters have stated they won’t be gifted a London apartment which is odd. They still have Nott Cott.. although I thought they said that was too small for their growing family? Idk why this seems weird.
I meant “eventually”.
Things will reshuffle when the Queen dies. More royals will move. Space will open up.
I think you have hit the nail on the head. Agree.
Moving out of London is exactly what Charles younger siblings did. So I’m not surprised, always thought if there was space for them out there they’d go They don’t need to be in central London. I expect sooner or later we’ll hear about thm getting a set of rooms somewhere or they’ll keep the cottage they have at kp.
Or they’re going to be the rare exception and do a lot of work outside london and so won’t need a London base at all, maybe stay at Clarence House when needs be.
Harry and William are close by all accounts. But why do people think that newlywed Harry and Meghan wanted to live next door to his brother and his family? It is not as if they are moving to Mars, I am sure they will still see each other a fair bit
Agreed! I’m seeing so many comments about how sad this is, how the rumors of tension must be true, etc. And its like….you can be close and not be neighbors.
The only problem I see is the cost of the reparations/renovations. It will be paid by taxpayers, and same as it was bad PR for the Cambridges a few years ago, it will be bad PR for the Sussexes. Especially because next month the numbers of the ladies’ expenditure (?) in clothes will be released. It will be a PR nightmare.
When W&K’s move was announced, and the cost of everything was released, the Palace made sure to clarify that KP would be their residence even when Charles is King.
As I really like both Meghan and Harry (especially Meghan) I hope they do this in a smart way. If FC was chosen, then live there permanently, be clear with how much it is going to cost, etc
I get the impression from these PR releases that this IS going to be their permanent home. This is going to be where they will raise the children and live, even when Charles becomes king. I wouldn’t be surprised when that happens if they do get another apartment in London, or use Clarence House as another base if they are doing a long stretch of engagements in London or something, but I think it sounds like Frogmore Cottage will be their official permanent base?
It wouldn’t have been so bad had William and Kate not bolted for Norfolk after stating that they would be doing more royal work in London at the time. The repairs and renovations were much needed, imo, but the Cambridges made it feel like a con job at the time.
They have some room to spin it if they need to. The idea that they didn’t take Apt 1 because it was such a major renovation doesn’t make sense at all as the Gloucesters were living there. There is no way it’s anywhere near as bad as 1A. So, they’re already trying to minimize it. Frogmore isn’t in great condition, but they were already set to renovate it this year. They were going to take it from 5 apartments to only 3 if I remember correctly. So, at least some of the money that will be spent was already going to be spent there. It’s smaller than it’s being reported. Only 5-6 bedrooms and it lost most of it’s expensive historical features in previous renovations. It will most likely be the least expensive royal residence out of all of them. I’m still not sure how they expect to have it done by April, but we will see. Will and Kate’s was a nightmare because they were renovating 2 mansions at once and not working full time. In all likelihood this will be their permanent home base. They’ll keep Nott Cott or another small apartment too for super late/early engagements and such just like all Andrew and the Wessexes who also live in Windsor.
The Gloucesters have agreed to move out next year. To a smaller house in Kensingtlon Palace. If Harry and Meghan really wanted a
place in London, they could wait until next year. They want to be on the Windsor grounds and that’s ok. But who will take Apt. 1 then?
@maria The Cambridges could take over the space. Their apartment is called 1A because they used to be one big apartment. They don’t really need to space, but Apt 1 does have a much more private garden that the kids would probably enjoy. They don’t really have anywhere near the house that is private. Otherwise it will be rented out like the other KP apartments that don’t house working royals or staff.
The only thing that surprises me about this is that I also read that the Gloucesters ARE moving out of their apartment and into a smaller apartment at KP. So if that is true, it has the feel of the Gloucesters moving out for H&M but then H&M saying “nah, don’t want it.” But there is so much speculation – who knows.
In itself, I don’t think this is weird. They will have more privacy at Windsor from what I’ve read. I don’t think this is about wanting to separate from William and Kate, beyond ” we don’t need to live next door to them to be close.” I actually think this may because someone DID realize the fallout and the poor optics from William and Kate moving to Anmer after KP was renovated, so this will give Harry and Meghan more of that country lifestyle (although I know Windsor isn’t “the country”) and more privacy without completely hightailing it out of there.
And it seems that they will keep their Cotswolds house and it will be a weekend/summer house, which makes sense.
I agree. Though this does feel like they were pushed out after months of insider leaks of how uncomfortable staff were and how they didn’t get along. I disagree on needing to move them to distinguish roles. No one confused H/M role with W/K, so that doesn’t add up. When they first got engaged, we heard how well they got on and Kate was helping Meghan settle in, then it changed to Kate is too busy raising her kids and now they’re not friends, two different kinds of people and H/M moving away. Also, this media competition was petty and nasty, pretty shameful but at least by moving, the staff who clearly hated Meghan won’t be around or bothered.
Does anyone see the tings of racism associated with the “she’s difficult stories”, because there is and you’d think the What Meghan wants, she gets” thing would be more transparent in that way… she’s new, different and clearly royal staffers were treating her worse than the press.
So it’s good they’re moving but it’s unfortunate how Harry is being treated. For the past 8+ years he was a great brother and happy 3rd wheel to William and Kate, and helped Kate feel welcome and apart of the pack but it doesn’t look like that was reciprocated within the year, he’s been tossed aside as lesser than and wife is difficult.
I really don’t think racism has anything to do with this. If she has been being difficult, compared to what the royals are accustomed to, then she has a problem.
Why would they still keep the Cotswolds place which they have to pay rent on? That will go. At some stage Charles will buy them their own country house. Frogmore seems to be a stopgap for them to have a secure place for H & M to raise their first child.
@PrincessK because all the stories about the Frogmore Cottage also state that they will keep the Cotswolds house lol. Obviously not forever, but it seems for the foreseeable future.
There’s never been any confirmation of the rental in the Cotswolds that I know of. These renovations on Frogmore Cottage were started in April, so it seems this is the plan for their country home.
Being given a luxury “cottage ” with 10 bedrooms, spa, gym, etc, does not make it seem like they’re being pushed aside. My family of 2 kids and our parents were perfectly fine in a 2 bedroom home for a few years before we moved to a larger house, but we’re just normal, regular people, like Harry claims he wants his kids to grow up as. I wouldn’t want to live right next door to my sister, so I understand moving to another house to be away from his sibling
They want to be normal, and their kids will do chores. Sure!
It has FIVE bedrooms!
So much burn this weekend – made me wonder if they (Harry) had done something specific to annoy the press (or William)
I could believe that this is something that Harry and Meghan wanted if Frogmore Cottage weren’t directly in the Heathrow flight path. I don’t quite buy that they would choose to live somewhere with planes flying overhead at less than 2000 ft every two minutes.
I spend a fair amount of time near Windsor and you don’t notice it much. It’s not like living in Hounslow.
My heart bleeds….this place will be absolutely gorgeous when the tax payer funded renovations are complete. How the other half live indeed.
The Gloucester’s are apparently happy to be moving out but the issue is that those apartments need a lot of work done to them and likely won’t be ready to live in for some time. So that ‘drama’ is so a non issue. I suspect that once the renovations are complete the Sussex’s will end up using them as their London residence, much like the Cambridges who have Amner as well.
You could be right.
Oh Goodee.
A property that us lucky British tax payers get to fork out to do up for these pair of pompous, over-paid mackerels.
As if Brexit isn’t enough BS for us all.
As a British taxpayer, this makes me ragey. Harry & Meg: Fund your own renovations, you can certainly afford to. Also, pointless rant as an Indian native: your ancestors bled my home country dry. And now as 2nd gen immigrants to the UK who’re struggling to make ends meet, we’re still paying the price for your entiltlement. Meanwhile the NHS is still understaffed and overworked and many public schools are still heavily reliant on private funding. Well done, Royals!
THIS.
Also, as a long-time reader of CB it’s nice to see some comments from people who have their eyes open to the Royal Family… rather than the usual sycophantic drivel.
I’m American but I think the entire BRF are pampered poodles. The “work” they supposedly do is a joke.
Thank you! I’m Canadian and can’t wait until we wake up and become a republic.
This Canadian here couldn’t agree with you more!!!!
@Evil Owl – I must say, if I were a British taxpayer I would feel exactly the same way. TQ and Charles are more than rich enough to pay for this, Harry is sixth in line, and it isn’t as if it’s anywhere the public will ever visit, like Kensington Palace.
I’m sorry, this is an outrage. We pay a lot for security and travel for Presidents, but good or bad, they eventually get out of office.
The royals never go out of office.
I thought the same about renovations to KP for W&K.
It’s really disgusting.
@Evil Owl, some of what you say is true. Don’t forget it was done with the connivance of your own Maharajahs. But the U.K. is still one of the best places to live ( post Brexit it may change) and many people want to get in. People need to stop moaning , the RF have been wonderful custodians of our heritage for centuries.
What? Our own MAharajahs sent trillions from our country? Some of them say it as the only way to keep the culture alive and not get caught up in endless fights/ Some were traitors, yes. The Indian ethos was about supporting trade and having legal, above board agreements. The rapacious east india company lied and cheated and came up with some questionable legal documents. One way or the other, the crimes that countries commit come back as karma. waiting for the royal family’s karma to bite them.
@princessk – i don’t often say this but please get yourself an education
This is as abhorrent and offensive as people saying that slavery is excusable because some Africans participated in the slave trade.
@MrsBump …I am well versed in both transatlantic slavery history and Indian history, please do not twist and misinterprete my words. I believe that unlike in the past we should view history from all perspectives, and we will all benefit from it.
@princessk What you’re essentially saying is immigrants like me should be grateful for the privilege of being allowed to live in the UK because ‘so many people want to get in’. I am grateful. But I also contribute to the UK GDP with my professional skills AND I pay taxes for my ‘privileges’ like healthcare & infrastructure. Which I would argue is vastly different from invading a country, exploiting the weakness of its rulers and taking whatever I fancy because I can. Please don’t let your colonizer mindset get in the way of your education.
PrincessK
you are offering no new perspective but rehashing the same old excuse used by colonisers to justify their invasion and exploitation of another country.
It is similar to the often heard “britain brought railway to India” as justification to all the atrocities committed, without ever mentioning that those railways were used for the Brits to move goods/wealth outside of Indian, that the Indians never benefited from. Even the word loot was stolen from India.
You are not as well versed as you think.
@MrsBump Well said! I couldn’t have put it better than you did.
I am from Canada and our architecture is wildly different from the UK, however, based on the pictures I saw of it Frogmore Cottage looks pretty dilapidated to me – the grass wasn’t even cut. I truly hope it will get an extensive reno. It’s pretty different from the place Andrew and Sarah moved to in the 80’s.
I think the move is their choice because they like Windsor and Kensington Palace is too much of a fishbowl with four of them there. Also perhaps there simply isn’t a place for them at KP.
As a tax payer in the USA, I hate it every day when I think that my tax money that could go to help underprivileged children, ect is being used every day to protect Don the Con and his entire crime family. We have to protect the Dotard with his golfing trips, ect about 300+ days so far and this is just protection. We have to pay for wife #3 protection plus staying one day in a hotel for about $100,000. We pay for son #1 and his children, son #2, and his children, and son #3. We have to pay for daughter#1 and her husband and children, and daughter #2. All the grandkids have SS protection and this will go on years after they are kicked out of the White House. To me it appears the RF is cheep, 😂 compared to what we are funding for this crime family.
The grass is the easiest thing to take care of. I believe they will get a landscaper to redesign the lamdscape, making it up to date and beautiful. Btw, if someone gave me that mansion and told me it’s a cottage I’ll take it. I love the the building, I always like old building and the workmanship that goes into them.
I just googled it to see what it looks like. Whoa….THAT’S a cottage??
Really? Frogmore House looks more like something I’d imagine as royal lodgings, but Frogmore Cottage looks like a pretty run down building (from the outside at least) and not at all a grand residence.
This is a downgrade, wow. Imo, of course. Frogmore Cottage looks like the home I grew up in. The house also looks like my family members & friends homes. I guess we do have more money than the average person, but we aren’t anywhere near as wealthy as the Royals. Frogmore cottage is a simple 5/6 bedroom detached home in the outer London suburbs.. It doesn’t look as big as 10 bedrooms to me, and new reports on Twitter are saying the cottage doesn’t have 10 bedrooms as originally stated. One difference is we also have swimming pools, but the major difference is that Frogomroe cottage backs onto Frogmore House grounds, whilst our homes back onto countryside views. I’m sure they will renovate and refurbish this cottage and make it into a lovely luxury home but frankly, this type of home is not what I expected Harry and his wife to live in as they are senior Royals. Andrew, Edward and Anne have bigger estates & homes in the country with extensive acres. I thought Harry was her Majesty’s fave grandson? They also have separate luxury homes in London for their official residences.
I’m confused as to why they aren’t choosing St James Palace for their central London official base. St James Palace has beautiful apartments. The Heathrow flight path is ridiculous in that area, not really baby friendly in the summer – people seem to get used to the noise after a while. I’m guessing they will use the helicopters more frequently when they travel to London because even with their security escort it will take over an hour to get to London depending on the traffic conditions. I’m wondering when they drive.. will they be using their big security escort all the time? If so, won’t that be a bit of a nuisance to everyone else on the roads?
The logistics of having Senior Royals like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex outside London when they have regular London engagements is a bit off to me. Everyone else.. Sophie&Edward, Anne, etc., have their official residence in London for a reason – then their country homes are their bigger family homes. Hmm, it seems as if the security bills & travel bills will go up.
St. James Palace is now being used principally as offices. Former home of Prince Charles and William and Harry. Princess Eugenie is moving…so no, the palace of St. James is not an option.
Yea…the difference is im not helping to pay for ur luxury home.
Depends on where they get their money, tho. I’m paying for ridiculous luxury crap for odious rich people every time I use my phone, go online, purchase something in a store or even flip on the lights.
Bezos has made plenty off me. You can say, “well just don’t purchase from Amazon” but these huge corporations have all sorts of interconnections – for example, Amazon sells large scale data services to many other companies. So it’s not that simple to just avoid it if I don’t like Bezos (which I don’t!). And they do it by screwing over the workers and dodging taxes. We’ve got our own unelected rich class… and many of them don’t do a thing for charity, ever. While avoiding paying taxes!
I think St. James Palace, from what I read, has “rooms” for certain royals to use when they’re in London, like Princess Anne, but doesn’t have large flats like those in KP. As a “home base” it doesn’t seem feasible.
My guess is that this is a sort of downgrade – I can’t imagine that Meghan doesn’t appreciate the buzz and importance of London, she’s an urban girl, after all, and no one ever suggested she doesn’t know how to shop – she never struck me as a country girl. Windsor, from what I can tell, has name cachet but is a boring market town and not nearly as beautiful as the Cotswolds, where a lot of stars have homes, or the Lake District. I think she’ll be bored and probably a little angry at having to make somewhere outside the capital her “home base”. I don’t buy that stuff about the “goldfish bowl of KP” at all – I think if it had been offered, she’d have leapt at it.
I think there’s a message here about where H&M stand in the hierarchy. To my eyes, of course, the place is palatial, but I can see that after you’ve seen other things, grand flats in a historic palace like KP, the renovations that I understand Anmer Hall underwent, your value meter gets recalibrated. I can’t imagine Meghan looking forward to what looks like a bit of exile – it’s not as if the shopping is great in Windsor – and having to drive or be driven a half hour and back every time you want to go to London.
I think there is a message in here. The whys and wherefores are something we’ll never know, but I suspect things didn’t go quite as well as everyone thought they would and there’s been some backlash.
They did choose Frogmore for their engagement photos and wedding reception, so it’s possible they have planned this move for awhile. Not disagreeing there is more afoot.
Completely agree.
The Sussexes will definitely still have a London base, possibly Nott Cott. Charles will eventually buy them their own country pile or give them Highgrove.
@Princessk – Charles buying them a country pile after spending taxpayer monies fixing up this pile would be an insult to the UK taxpayer. This IS their country pile. Why would he give them Highgrove? He loves the place and that is HIS country pile – he’s done huge amounts of work on it, the landscaping, the gardens.
They are giving up Nott Cott according to reports.
Meanwhile, it is reported that Eugenie and her new husband have just moved into Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace.
I don’t think Nott Cott is in H&M’s future. They’ll get a couple of rooms at St. James, like Anne and Beatrice York, for when they have to stay in London.
It is unlikely they will get a private country home. This will be their public country home, they may keep Nott Cott as their London residence when schedules require it.
Charles does not own Highgrove, The Duchy does. He cannot give it to Harry, nor can he sell it to Harry without approval of board that runs the Duchy.
The whole thing is weird. It doesn’t do much to stem the rumours that H&M are being pushed aside. As nice as this cottage will eventually be (thanks to taxpayers) it is a downgrade for a couple who only weeks ago were being promoted as the next generation of Royals. Guess time will tell.
I don’t think that Windsor itself is a downgrade, but from what I’ve seen thus far, Frogmore Cottage seems unimpressive.
I think this is the natural progression that people didn’t want to see. Harry will not be king. How much do you hear from Charles’ siblings? Very little. Yes, Sussexes are popular, that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. William will be king and the focus will always be him and his family.
In your dreams. Harry and Meghan are going to attract as much attention as W&K for decades to come.
@Princessk – decades? In a couple of decades they’ll be the Yorks and their kids will be Bea and Eugenie, and Kate’s and William’s kids will be attracting all the attention.
Possibly but it’s unlikely. Her best shot is to work within the Royal apparatus not against it. They’re working Royals. They are going to be well publicized, but there’s no guarantee they will be anything but what the York’s are now.
Exactly. All this fawning over Harry & Meg has a shelf life. They are out of the line of succession and they will indeed age out of the spotlight within the next 10 years give or take.
Something’s up. There is too much turmoil of late and Meghan is being attacked from all fronts.
They must have chosen Windsor for practical reasons (the area is already secure, refurbishment costs are supposed to be significantly lower, more space for their children, etc) instead of “let’s get away from your brother and sister in law!”
And of course Kate is competitive – she’s always been. The moment Harry and Meghan got engaged we’ve seen a more alert, happy and engaged Kate. She thrives on female competition. Unfortunately this means the Cambridge PR machine will go overboard and after Meghan instead of focusing on what Kate can do to improve her lazy, vain image through work and commitments.
I know people on these threads are not happy to hear this repeated, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are direct in line for the throne, like it yes or like it no, or fit the narrative or not, or consider William and Kate “lazy”; they will be in an entirely different strata from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex…..going forward their paths will diverge not parallel and this will widen as their children grow older and into their own. IMO, the perceived “competition” is not one sided…..have not you all agreed that Meghan is ambitious?
We’ve all gotten so used to thinking of William and Harry as a pair, a two-fer. But you are right that William is the heir and Harry is not (and given William’s growing family, will likely never be.) You don’t see Anne, Andrew or Edward getting treated as an equivalent of Charles. And back in the day, Queen Elizabeth’s father was just the next in line after Edward/David. I think when the families were bigger it was easier to think of it that way. It will be for William’s kids if the monarchy survives.
I can’t speak for everyone else commenting here. Most of us are very aware of their different positions, hence why we laugh at all the ‘keen’ articles repeated every single year. Kate is not in line to anything, William is. We’re all aware William will inherit after his father. We’re also aware that the Cambridges are more heavily protected by the media and recognise the fact that, per their position, they should be doing more. Per her position, Kate should have been doing more for at least the past 6 years. We’ve only known Meghan as a royal for 6 months or so – we don’t know her work yet. We’ve known Kate for a long time; she’s suddenly doing more since Meghan came along, even while pregnant (she was nowhere this active during her previous pregnancies). So no, I don’t believe this competition is one sided but I truly believe Kate is upping her game because now she will be held in comparison to someone just as capable, or more so, than her. And this with all the media help she’s had all these years. Meghan is, and will be, crucified for far less. Eg: showing her calf when we’ve all seen Kate’s ass, repeatedly (yet the press have chosen, repeatedly, not to run those images, thankfully).
To finish – I’ve said this since the very beginning. Anyone, ANYONE, who marries a Prince/Princess (or any other aristo or royal) is ambitious. And there’s nothing wrong with ambition (unless when confused with greed)
Princess Margaret, the Queen’s only sibling was central to the Royal family until Charles became an adult. Harry won’t be shoved aside anytime soon. It seems a lot of people here either aren’t old enough to remember this or haven’t followed them for that long.
As for moving to Frogmore, well it’s close to Windsor and with BP expected to be in renovations for years, Charles will move his base of operations to Windsor. Eugenie and Beatrice grew up in Windsor and there is schooling nearby that doesn’t require travelling though central London everyday with security. This is a long term decision for a permanent base of operations.
The Cambridge’s will end up King and Queen but it does not automatically mean that they will be more popular and liked in Britain and the world.
The press and the establishment fall in line behind the heirs. Always. And if that changes, as it did for David (who was wildly popular) and Bertie, the press and the establishment will fall in line. And we will believe it, because we are all sheep.
@Tina….well the press and the establishment have not really fallen in line behind Charles have they? The press are smearing Meghan because she is an American with African heritage.
@PrincessK, what do you think that hagiography of Charles for his 70th birthday was all about?
@Cee – frankly, from what I’ve seen, a quite other PR machine has been throwing shade at Kate at every opportunity, and if Meghan Markle isn’t female competitive, she isn’t anything. Personally, I think Meghan overplayed her hand and far from Kate taking a leaf out of Meghan’s book, Kate was smart and stuck to her own aura and style. It is Meghan who should have taken a leaf out of Kate’s book. The maternity coat stunt at Eugenie’s wedding made an enemy of the Yorks and it’s my guess it was Prince Andrew who leaked the Tiara Gate story, and paid Meghan back for what, I am sorry, looked like petty Girl One Upmanship. You don’t take on Prince Andrew lightly – he looks like he knows how to play mean. I think it probably angered the Queen, too – Andrew is her favorite child, they say, and Eugenie is her much loved flesh and blood granddaughter. Meghan was foolish to bait them for a little attention at someone else’s wedding, just as she was foolish to bait the British press. Now they’re getting their own back at her, and people blame the mysterious Cambridge PR machine for how Meghan is being treated.
Someone once said it’s crazy to pick a fight with someone who can afford barrels of ink. That’s what Meghan and Harry did when they threatened the British press, which I imagine has a very long memory. Harry should have known better. Blaming the Cambridges is just off, in my opinion.
Sounds like DM is your bible. Do you really believe all that rubbish that Meghan upstaged Eugenie…lol! She did NOT announce her pregnancy at the wedding and the open coat was how she decided to style the outfit.
@Princessk – It isn’t rubbish IMHO and you are, of course, free to believe what you will. The moment she appeared with that coat the wires went wild, as she knew perfectly well they would. She wasn’t an actress for years for nothing. And don’t make assumptions about me and the DM because I disagree with you. I’d bet six months’ salary that Prince Andrew was enraged. Don’t tell me a 37 year old actress just “happened” to style the coat that way so that she sent a clear nonverbal message. The Tiara Gate story probably went the rounds of the family, as often happens in families, and when H&M got back from the tour, Andrew, who isn’t known for his sweet personality, dropped the story to pay her back.
I agree M plays a PR game, but so does K (rewearing clothing since M came on the scene, rebranding as “mother”). IMO neither have shown the PR skills Charles and Camilla have with rebranding (true, loyal love versus cheating spouses and affectionate grandparents versus absent parents).
I have to say I notice certain people support either M or K and are kind of anti the other(because they identify with one?). Again IMO, if I ever really met either of these women, M or K, not at some public function but in a social situation they would both snub me mean girl style.
There were public requests for permission to renovate Frogmore Cottage back in April, so this move has been in the works before the wedding. I suppose the media’s stories on the 500 properties they were supposedly gifted were false. Surprise, surprise.
Yes, 😆.
Well, “public.” The fact that planning permission was requested was made public, but the plans themselves have not been.
Weren’t W&K given Anmer first then their KP residence shortly after? I’m not side eyeing this atm
Frogmore cottage…aptly named for the inordinately large number of frogs and marshy grounds. Also, the burial site of Wallis Simpson, alongside other royals. Former home to a disgraced former servant of Queen Victoria; also in direct line of two flight paths. But if the Duke and Duchess like it there, that is all that matters.
😄 agreed. Someone is spinning this to make it more desirable.
Queen Mary lived there. She was somewhat important. And Frogmore cottage is on the grounds of Frogmore House which if you look at a google maps overhead is minutes walking distance from Windsor castle. More importantly they are part of the secured complex which means it is only open to the public a few days per year.
‘A disgraced former servant’……please don’t twist facts that are well known.
At the risk of tempting fate, won’t everyone in the direct line get to move up to better digs in the not-too-distant future when the Queen passes? Charles will move from Clarence House to B’ham Palace, W&K get Clarence House, which will leave an empty apartment at Kensington for the Sussexes, etc. etc. Would Andrew, Anne and Edward all stay where they are or would they get to play musical palaces too?
Now that I think about it, what will happen to Highgrove? Will King Charles still spend considerable time there or will it be empty 90% of the time? It’s a bit small for a reigning monarch. I’m assuming he would take over Sandringham when both HM and Prince Philip are no longer with us, but maybe I’m mistaken.
No one really cares for Buckingham Palace though, not even the Queen. It’s been said that Charles is hoping to be able to stay at CH while maintaining offices at BP.
Even if Charles leaves Clarence House, I doubt Will and Kate will move there. My guess is they will stay at KP until William becomes king (or maybe move before then, but probably not for 10-20 years.) Don’t forget Charles and Diana lived at KP together. Nothing says that the Prince of Wales has to live in Clarence House. (I’ve said that now someone will come tell me how wrong I am, hahahaha.)
The Queen Mum lived there and her husband was never Prince of Wales. I think Charles is attached to Clarence House because of his close relationship with the Queen Mum.
Only Charles is going to move when he is King and he’s not happy about it. William will own High Grove when he becomes Prince of Wales as it is owned by the duchy of Cornwall. So, he might use it, let Charles use it or even open it up to the public. The gardens are already open sometimes anyway.
I didn’t realize the duchy owned Highgrove, for some reason I thought it belonged to Charles personally. It has been such a labor of love for him, I can’t imagine anyone else taking up residence or making changes to it while he still walks the earth, even when William becomes the official owner. William, or Kate, don’t give two sh*ts for organic farming and gardening either, so I dread what will become of it when it is theirs. The business side of it will continue, I’m sure it makes a tidy profit for the duchy, but it won’t have the same kind of soul it does now.
I don’t really think this is weird? Didn’t Kate and William get Anmer Hall before they got the apartment at KP? I can’t remember the timeline anymore but my guess is in a few years Meghan and Harry will probably also have a London base. They’re probably just doing this for the first few years of their kid’s life so they can have privacy while their future son/daughter is young. Or they just really wanted to live there and the Queen approved it. Nothing seems super shady to me… also living right next door to your brother and sister-in-law–some families might love that but I think most families want a little space. I grew up in the same town where my grandparents lived but we didn’t live right next door.
Why do they need a central London apartment? If there’s a late night event in London is it THAT hard to get back to Windsor? They have drivers, no one is worried about falling asleep at the wheel. Or isn’t there a spare guest bedroom at BP or KP that could be used?
Might Frogmore be more convenient to other locations? Like the airport? Or Charles and Camilla? Or friends? Or other parts of the country?
I don’t get the feeling of them being pushed out when they’re still going to be on the grounds of one of HM’s favorite residences.
Renovations to historical palaces is one thing – renovations to what is a private family home is another. So it’s ok to take th tax payers buck as long as they can’t get anywhere near u and ur luxury lifestyle. If they want a secluded house in th country they can afford to pay for th upgrade themselves.
I love talking about these people, but there really are days when I just don’t understand why the British put up with it, it’s so past its sell date.
The occupants of the Oval Office, as Gen. MacArthur once pointed out, are temporary. But you can’t get rid of the royals and the only time I ever saw public pressure accomplish anything was when Windsor burned and the public refused to pay for renovating it, and the Queen was, like, startled and hastily said she’d pay for it.
She should have paid for the renos to the Cambridge apartment and she and/or Charles should be paying for renos to a cottage for God’s sake on a larger estate as the private residence of the sixth in line.
It’s not as if the Queen and her family own these properties, or do they? Buckingham palace is a national treasure and representative of the UK. It would be sad reflection on the decline of the UK, if they didn’t spend money to keep it updated., right?
We can only speculate for now and wait for the true story of it all to be written in the next few years.
So who lives at Marlborough House? It’s s nice big house near Clarence House.
Isn’t it offices?
OK, now they are saying that the Sovereign Grant, which I thought was taxpayer money to support the monarchy, is actually fed by profits from the Crown Estates.
Can someone British explain the difference? Because when the Palace confirmed the funds would be “taxpayer money”, when asked how much, the terse reply was that it would be outlined in the SG report next summer.
So – is the SG taxpayer money, or isn’t it? And if it’s the Crown Estates, what is the difference?
The Crown Estates do NOT belong to the monarch personally. They belong to the Crown, which is a complicated concept that essentially boils down to the British State, which means the British people. George III transferred the Crown Estates to the Treasury in 1760. In exchange, he was promised an income in the form of the Civil List, and he also gave up the responsibility for paying for the government. The Civil List was abolished in 2011 when the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 was promulgated, giving the Queen the right to 15% of the revenues from the Crown Estates. (That has subsequently been increased to 25%, in an act of utter rubber stamping last year, upon which Parliament debated for a grand total of 45 minutes).
So, to answer your question, the Sovereign Grant is not “taxpayer money.” But it is money from assets belonging to the British people.
@Tina – thanks for the explanation! It does get very confusing for Americans!
@violet, no problem. It gets confusing for us here too – royals reporters get it wrong all the time.
The dogs will love the new living arrangements!!!
😘 best comment
geezus every time i read about these people they’re getting a new house
I just read an article from Vanity Fair which explains a lot about the Duke and Duchess moving plans. They really are preparing to go their own way in their personal living arrangements. They will be doing events related to the monarchy but also events close their hearts which involves just them. Prince Harry knows that things will change anyway when William replace Charles and Charles sits on the throne. William duties will become more since he will be on the throne himself one day. Harry and Meghan is just getting ahead of the game to plan their future as this day is already approaching. They will be minor royals and they want to begin making plans for their family and the duties they will carry out in the future. William and Kate moved out of Nottingham Cottage after Prince George was born to a bigger place. This is a good way to get these properties upgraded and since many properties need a lot of work. The royal family know what they doing . Their decision to move to Frogmore Cottage was being discussed before they married. After they did the tour last month, they had made a decision. The plans were already approved back in the summer. Please check out this article and let the garbage pail papers eat crow.
Vanity Fair doesn’t know any more about them than the tabloids do. They’re preparing to go their own way because they’ve been told that’s what they’re getting, and they’re getting it at cost, since they don’t have to pay for upgrades, just soft furnishings, and some of Charles’s money will pay for those. If anyone thinks for a moment that this is what Meghan was envisioning when she got a chance to marry into the BRF, I think they are naive. I think she was thinking she’d have a life just like Kate’s and didn’t really understand either the control the BRF was going to have over her life (something she probably hasn’t experienced in her adult life), or the nature of this kind of hierarchy. They’d never have put William and Kate here, and I don’t think the fact that the plans were afoot in April indicates that Harry and Meghan – especially Meghan the urban girl – are thrilled about it.
What Harry and Meghan are getting ahead of are the emerging public realities of who they are and who they aren’t, and making it look like it’s just what they wanted.
There are lots of things I admire about Meghan, but assuming she’s all sweetness and light, not competitive, not a lover of limelight and being at the center of things, I think is just denial. I also think she didn’t realize the powerful reach of some of the people involved here. I don’t doubt that Tiara Gate story was true, and it shows that Meghan didn’t appreciate that she is no longer a free agent, and that people like the Queen and Prince Charles can dictate where she lives and how.
I’ll believe this would have been a first choice of Meghan’s for a “home base”, minus one in London, the centre of their universe, when elephants roost in trees.
Ah Violet, thank you for parting the clouds in the sky so these people can see the light.