The timing was always going to be such a tight squeeze. It’s looking like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be moving into Frogmore Cottage ahead of the birth of Polo Baby after all. Which brings up something I’ve been banging the drum about for a while: the Queen really needs to “give” the younger royals a family home as soon as they get engaged. The Queen waited to give the Cambridges their apartment in Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall for a while too, and Will and Kate were stuck doing extensive renovations to both properties when they should have been nesting during Kate’s first two pregnancies. Same thing here – Meghan and Harry were only given Frogmore Cottage when Meghan was already like four or five months pregnant. The renovation was never going to be done on time. The Queen should have set aside certain properties for the Sussexes upon their engagement, but no, that’s “not the way it’s done.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been forced to delay their move to Frogmore Cottage due to last-minute design changes. Meghan, 37, and Harry, 34, were due to move into Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, this week, but workmen are still on-site. They could be waiting another four weeks, which would mean the heavily-pregnant Duchess would move in just days before giving birth.
A royal source told The Sun: ‘It’s been all hands to the pump. The builders have worked all week whatever the weather. But they keep making changes, particularly on the layout. The word is they’ve been quite demanding, which is understandable as what homeowner doesn’t want their house to be perfect?’
It has been reported that the couple are moving ‘in the spring – hopefully before the birth’ of the new royal baby, but a Kensington Palace spokesman said they would not comment any further.
I believe the move to Frogmore is going to happen after Polo Baby is born, and the Sussexes are pretty much dealing with that reality. I think that’s why Meghan is going along with a birth at St. Mary’s Hospital too – she knows that she and Harry are still going to be in Nottingham Cottage come Polo Baby’s arrival. That being said, Meghan seems to be riding the wave of late-pregnancy hormones and she’s just California-vibing in these last weeks:
As Meghan Markle inches closer to the arrival of her first child next month, she’s enjoying the last stage of her baby preparations. Behind the scenes she has quietly been getting ready inside and out. Born and raised in Los Angeles, “her California roots are coming through” as she prepares to welcome her first child, a friend tells PEOPLE.
“She’s being mindful of what she puts in her body and on her skin and even her at-home cleaning supplies,” the friend adds. “She’s hyperaware of what she’s using. She’s looking for natural things.”
In addition to the products she’s using, Meghan is also paying close attention to what she’s eating — and that will continue after the baby is born.
“She eats cleaner, and she’ll probably make her own baby food,” the friend adds. “It’s going to be clean living for this baby.”
With all there pressures that come with bringing a baby into the world, Meghan and Harry are resolved to build a sanctuary for their little family.
“This is a very happy time for Meghan and Harry,” says a source. “This baby has brought them even closer.“
I bet she does make her own baby food. It’s not that hard, right? It’s basically just apples and a food processor, right? Anyway, I believe that Meghan is probably enjoying her last weeks of being pregnant, and I believe the pregnancy has brought Meghan and Harry closer than ever. Sigh… they’re so cute together. Can’t wait for Polo Baby Sussex!
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
I dont know what I was reading, but somewhere it’s being reported that Meghan and Harry have already moved put of their cottage and are staying at buckingham palace until their new home is complete. I read that thinking “What kind of sense does that make, geeez they must really be over KP, if they’ve made that move.”
Buckingham Palace is under going massive renovations. So I’m not sure about that.
With a new born it can sleep in a bassinet in their bedroom, plus a changing table, and they can stay put in their cottage.
Doria can sleep in the spare bedroom, until they get to Frogmore cottage.
My contractor called me demanding too last summer when I was redoing a room. Despite being paid, for some reason he thought he was doing me a favor by exceeding the agreed upon time frame…
I’ve seen both sides of it. I know there are a decent chunk of crap contractors out there. But there are also a lot of demanding home owners that really don’t understand the process. When you have to wait on carpenters to finish up to a specific stage before the plumber can come in and do what they need to do – or when the client has flip flopped back and forth on what they want done… or when the supplier messed up an order that needs to be sent back to get the correct parts… it can easily get out of hand quickly without it being the fault of the contractor.
My husband is a plumber. He has to follow codes. He’s had homeowners who have tried to circumvent the codes, and he refused to do it. So he did the work the correct way… the homeowner had her brother come in, RE-DO what he had done the way that they were told wasn’t legal… which meant that my husband had to then go back and fix all the mess that other people have made. And because of the ‘work’ they rigged up themselves, he couldn’t do it in the way that he originally had set it up, so it took even longer to rework the area. I will say though – it takes a real piece of work for HIM to call someone difficult because he knows he’d want to have things done as stress-free as possible in our home. It’s only the customers who really try to micromanage without any knowledge of building codes or how to do things that drive him nuts.
Erin – we are in the middle of a renovation right now, re-stuccoing a Spanish style house (a fixer upper) and surrounding garden walls, all new windows and re-painting iron gates and upgrading electric. We are getting an incredible deal from a friend’s husband who is a contractor so we hired a decorator and picked and signed off on all decisions upfront, and are now trying to stay out of the way. Our goal is to be the best clients ever as we are so damn grateful at the deal he is giving us (which we know is an incredible deal because we bid out the same work from multiple contractors before my friend just spontaneously offered her husband).
You don’t have to be from Cali to care about toxic cleansers and additives in food so a big eyeroll to whoever floated that idea to the news. Hell, I make my own dog food as well as the bulk of what I eat from scratch, breads included. It’s not because I’m some California hippie—east coast born and raised—but because the junk added to our foods and household products has really gotten out of control.
Yep. Australian here and I make my own dog food too. My dogs were having a horrible time with itchy skin, so I moved them off of processed dog food to stuff I made and the itching went. I try and go raw with them as much as possible so it’s pretty easy. Eating healthy is certainly not just a Cali thing.
We tried feeding raw, but my older German Shepherd has IBS. My husband went too quickly with it, and it wasn’t pretty. Now that school break is over, I may try it again.
I did homemade baby food nine years ago. It’s so easy – I mean my parents were born in the 50s, and what did they eat? What their moms made them. Commercial baby food is a new thing.
I attempted to feed my cats a raw diet but none of them would have it. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
One is 12 with tummy issues, so it’s mostly about getting her eating and feeling comfortable. I gave in and went back to quality tinned food with chicken as the first ingredient. Better they should eat something than refuse the ideal thing, I guess. She’s old and likes what she likes, and she can’t really tell me what’s going on with her.
Amen. The article makes it sound as though women in England wouldn’t be health conscious while pregnant. So dumb and out of touch.
Yeah I eyeroll the California thing too. Just another way they’re trying to say her “American” is showing.
Plenty of new parents is many countries adjust their eating habits throughout their pregnancy and are more mindful of the chemicals around their young child ESPECIALLY when its the first child.
I know we did that in our household (Canadian) when my LO was a baby.
When my older nephew was born, my sister and I made every morsel that kid ate (when starting solids) from scratch. All organic, of course. It isn’t hard…basically the same thing we’d be making for the whole family, just sans spices, and VERY low salt, if any. Now,by the time the second one came along…., lol. We weren’t *quite* as compulsive about making *everything” from scratch 😊
Yes, we’re in CA lol. But “healthy is universal
Not from California. When I was pregnant, I ate healthy, avoided sushi (huge sacrifice for me), all sources of second hand smoke that I could (it also made me nauseous) and didn’t clean with the strong smelling commercial products. I ate far more vegetables and whole grains in my last trimester than I have since.
That’s the first thing I thought too, it’s really dumb. I didn’t realize I was being a Californian here in the Midwest by eating healthy and switching out toxic products.
Agree, this is not a California thing, and Meghan’s true friends would not be talking to the Fail or any other tabloid about her diet or pregnancy.
I hate this language of “clean eating” and “clean living” though. It’s so judgmental and moralizing. This is how eating disorders get pushed on people. Food has no moral value. It is fuel for your body.
Making baby food is easy if you plan for it. Just always prep an extra large portion and cook part of it in a 2nd pan without seasoning… puree… freeze most of that.
They’re on real food quickly, between easy no-prep food (banana, avacado) and the batches in the freezer you’re covered for days you don’t feel like pureeing or dirtying a second pan.
I’m not from California. I also saw this was common in Europe.
I never made baby food. We did baby led weaning and it was very easy.
Sorry if too personal, but how old was you child when they started to show signs of wanting to wean? Mine does not, so I’m trying a mixed method of offering other things first. It’s not going well, she’s wants what she wants.
Eliza, My first born nursed like a champ and wasn’t really interested in food until after he was 15 months. I would always offer some and he might horse around with applesauce, squash , oatmeal or whatever we were having that I would mush up for him, but he wasn’t eating meals per se. My daughter, 2 years later, started grabbing food off my plate when she was 10 months. (Spinach quiche for the record ) Both did child led weaning. I never bought baby food. I get the appeal of prepared food, especially for working moms, but it doesn’t take a lot of effort to go without.
At the end of my pregnancies I just wanted to do nothing. The timing of this home renovation is terrible, agree that TQ waited too long.
Anyway, let’s get that Polo Baby here, we need a distraction.
After the news this weekend, my EQ is hungry for Polo Baby. Hurry up little one, and bring some light into this miserable world!!
argh, last year we were doing a huge home reno and had to move in with my parents. All I wanted was to be back in our home before my youngest was born, but nope. We lived with my parents until my baby was 3 months old.
I feel for Meghan! It’s not the worst, obviously, but it’s nice to get settled in your home.
Little bit more complex than just throwing an apple in a food processor, but I can’t imagine she or the nannies will have any difficulty making their own baby food. It’s definately worth it.
I think it was LESS complex. We didn’t even use a food processor, just the back of a spoon to scrape apple into baby’s mouth, mushy avocado straight from fruit to mouth, etc. Then within months mushed up bits from my own plate. And breastmilk til 2. Nothing to it!
Making your own baby food is easy. But we skipped baby food with the second and just went straight to “real” food at 6 months.
I’m not surprised that Frogmore isn’t ready yet. Hopefully they can move soon though.
My kiddos pretty much ate “real” food from the beginning with the exception of cereals. Baby cereals were easier to make. In fact my kiddos only drank breast milk or formula from a baby bottle. Any other liquid (juice, water) was put in some type of sippy cup. Making baby food is easy and my daughters made their own.
Also, LOL that the queen needs to give homes before marriage. She could tell everyone to live in a palace (there are enough of them) and buy/lease their own country home. They’re all rich enough. How do UK citizens feel about funding renovations for all of them while Brexit looms?
Sorry but I’m fed up with the grift of our “first family” here in the US and the royals live the same. I bet Trump is jealous of HM’s gold piano.
Yup, champagne problems such as these are very triggering for me as Brexit looms menancingly and my family struggles with business and personal finances. But ok, woe is me to the charming royals; poor dahlings can’t get their dream house perfect enough and are forced to live in a palace for a few more weeks
They’re all pampered poodles, every last one of them. I have to just focus on the fashion and enjoyable stuff like Polo Baby.
Here’s my thing about giving them a home while engaged – what if they break up before the wedding or even the day of the wedding? Also agree they should not have to be given a home.
The size of Edward and Sophie’s house is absolutely staggering.
Maybe making baby food is easy, but it’s definitely just adding more stuff to clean when chances are you are already spending 20~ minutes a day cleaning bottles. I was all about buying baby jars of food. Rinse and toss in recycling container and done.
SAME 🙂 I don’t even have time to make breakfast for myself in the morning, jarred baby food worked out just fine.
I bought a baby food grinder and he was eating the same food as us at six months. I didn’t like or trust jarred baby food.
I think it’s great if moms want to make their own baby food but I don’t want any mother to be mommy-shamed. I would be included in that because I used jar food.
100% on no mommy shaming over what a baby eats. It’s a personal decision based on personal reasons.
Ditto no shame. For me it was economics. It was cheaper to feed him what we were eating.
I mean, it’s their choice to do extensive renovations isn’t it? I don’t understand how this is the queens fault.
Well, from what I recall, it was staff offices. Hard to just move in as-is when it’s set up as an office building and not a home. Also, from any pictures I’ve ever seen of royal residences, the interiors are dated af. So, I’m not begrudging them renovations.
It was 5 separate apartments, walled off from each other, with separate entrances.
Making baby food is not just throwing stuff into a blender and calling it a day. It’s prep, storage, cleaning. As an exhausted parent, it can be really challenging to find the time and energy. That comment really bugs.
I’m sorry, but no one truly “enjoys” the last month of their pregnancy. The purpose of that last month is to be so uncomfortable that you’re completely willing to go through the indignity of childbirth! 😉
Yes to this! I had big babies and could barely move, just wanted the whole thing over and done.
Yes!! I had a big and very long baby and I literally panted during conversation because my lung capacity was so impaired. I walked anywhere from 2 to 5 miles a day from 36 to 41 weeks. I was like, get out!!! I joke that I wore a groove in the sidewalk in my neighborhood, just going around and around.
I have several friends who made their own baby food. They said it was both healthier and cheaper than buying baby food from the store.
I also met a woman who made her own cat food.
Mississippian here which makes me as far from a Californian as you can probably get. I was very health conscious during my pregnancies so it’s definitely not just a West Coast philosophy. My kids are now 17 and 10 and I’m a working mom so I’m not quite as rigid regarding food and cleaning products as I would like to be, however there are several foods I don’t compromise, one of which is chicken. I’ve seen how fast commercial chickens grow and it’s insane so all of our chicken and eggs are organic and come from local farms that are cage-free. We also get our beef from a local farm and have a garden to grow our own vegetables. I don’t know if there is any correlation but my daughter is the only girl in her class that doesn’t seem to be on the brink of puberty, more than half of the girls have already started their periods and they’re 10!
It blows me away at how young girls are getting their period now.
Thanks for writing a nice post about Meghan. The Brits are really mean and nasty so it’s great when I can come here and get a positive and honest point of view.
The Brits look very crass and petty by snubbing Meghan. Really xenophobic people, but who are Americans to complain these days?
I love Meghan and Harry. I hope they’ll be really really happy.
Yep, I made all my daughter’s food until she was about three. Banana is just: take a banana, mush with fork, give to baby. LOL. I would steam and puree carrots then freeze them in ice trays for individual servings. Etc. Her first birthday cake was awful, though: an apple cake that was unsweetened and whole grain. It was SO AWFUL! 🙂 I made up for it on her second birthday: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting.
Here in frozen Canada I only use natural cleaners, don’t eat meat etc. I was expecting to read that she has a shaman on call for her bath tub home birth lolll. Poor posh poodles.