Yahoo News Frogmore Cottage: The stunning royal residence Harry and Meghan are being kicked out of
The property was the home of Meghan and Harry before they moved to California, and was thought to have been held for them as a UK base.
Meghan and Harry are being told to leave Frogmore Cottage, the residence they previously called home and spent around £2.4m renovating in 2019.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had kept the Grade-II listed property as a base to use whenever they visited the UK from their home in California, but will be forced to find alternative accommodation to make way for the cottage's next potential resident: Prince Andrew.
The disgraced Duke of York is reportedly set to leave the £30m Royal Lodge property he has lived in since 2004 and has been offered the keys to the Sussexes' soon to be former pad – though he has yet to decide whether to move in.
The royal residence was a big part of the Sussexes' life after they moved in in 2019 – and it has been an integral element of Royal Family for more than 200 years.
The history of Frogmore Cottage
The 10-bedroom property was built by Queen Charlotte in 1801 and was originally known as Double Garden Cottage. It was initially intended to be used by her daughters but its later residents included palace staff, international royals, and later Meghan and Harry.
The property is owned by the Crown Estate, meaning it belongs to the monarch, though it has been leased by the Sussexes. The late Queen Elizabeth made it clear that the cottage would be Meghan and Harry's UK home, despite the couple spending most of their time in California.
The cottage is part of the Frogmore Estate, bordering the much larger Frogmore House, which was once the home of Queen Victoria's mother, and also played host to Queen Charlotte and Queen Mary as well as numerous royals throughout the years.
More recently, Frogmore House acted as the reception venue for the wedding of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, and later for Meghan and Harry's wedding reception.
Past residents of Frogmore
The cottage originally built at the behest of Queen Charlotte for her daughters to use has been occupied by a number of people over the years – notably theologian Henry James Sr, who spent time there in the 1840s; Queen Victoria's personal assistant Abdul Karim, who lived there in 1897; and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, who lived there during the 1920s.
More recently, it has been the home of the Sussexes.
Meghan and Harry moved into Frogmore shortly before the birth of their first son, Archie, having previously lived in Harry's former bachelor pad Nottingham Cottage ("Nott Cott") – which the royal described as "no palace" in his memoir Spare.
"I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed. Nott Cott was no palace. Nott Cott was palace adjacent – that was the best you could say for it," he wrote of the smaller property he lived in for six years.
However, the couple appear to have enjoyed their time at Frogmore, with Meghan saying of the property: "It was a place where we had so many memories, our courtship, our wedding, our engagement, our walks."
The couple also hosted daughter Lilibet's first birthday at the cottage while visiting the UK for the Jubilee weekend, with photographer Misan Harriman posting a snap of the youngster outside the property.
Since Meghan and Harry have been out of the country, the cottage has been used by other members of the Royal Family. Harry's cousin Eugenie – Andrew's daughter – used the cottage as a temporary residence in 2021 after the birth of her first child August, with husband Jack Brooksbank.
They have since divided their time between Portugal and the smaller Nottingham Cottage, previously home to Prince Harry, but are thought to have stayed in Frogmore with the Sussexes' blessing.
“Frogmore Cottage continues to be the Sussexes’ residence in the UK and they are delighted to be able to open up their home to Princess Eugenie and Jack as they start their own family,” The Sun reported a source close to the family saying at the time.
During her stay at Frogmore, Eugenie shared several snaps from inside and around the property, and is thought to have made some of her own small changes – with Hello! reporting that Eugenie had added some Bohemian cushions and muted paint colours to the property during her time there.
Despite Eugenie and family briefly taking up residence at Frogmore, Meghan and Harry made it clear they viewed the property as their home away from home – reportedly renewing the lease on the cottage shortly before they flew into the UK for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Do the Royal Family pay rent? Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew and more (Hello!, 3-min read)
Recent renovations
Meghan and Harry spent around £2.4m refurbishing the property in 2019, agreeing to pay back the sum – previously taken from the sovereign grant, which is funded by taxpayers – after they announced they were taking a step back from royal duties.
The refurbishment of the property, which took place shortly before they moved in, is thought to have transformed the cottage from a 10-bedroom property into a five-bed, complete with yoga studio, two orangeries and a vegetable garden, according to House and Garden reported.
The pair are also believed to have spent £50,000 of their own money soundproofing the cottage as it lies under a Heathrow Airport flight path.
Meghan and Harry have never commented on who helped with the interior design of their home, but at the time it was widely speculated that designer Vicky Charles, who is responsible for the interior of Soho Farmhouse as well as having worked with the Beckhams, worked with the Sussexes on the property.
One friend of the pair who visited Frogmore after the renovation told The Daily Mail: 'It's not as luxurious as you'd expect. It's very tasteful because Meghan has great taste, but it's all very White Company. Clean lines and neutral colours.
"It was done on a budget – a big budget, admittedly – but it's not quartz and marble everywhere. There are subway-style tiles in the bathroom and it's comfortable and homely."
Princess Eugenie is thought to have added some touches to the property when she briefly stayed there, but the overall feel of the cottage is believed to be markedly different from Andrew's Royal Lodge home – where colour schemes include orange walls, heavy drapes and ornate furniture.
Duchess of York ‘will do all she can’ to earn enough to stop Prince Andrew being forced out of Royal Lodge (The Independent, 3-min read)
