Meghan Markle’s ‘inappropriate’ living request ‘firmly’ shut down by late Queen
The late Queen ‘politely but firmly’ turned down a bold request from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry regarding their living arrangements following their marriage in 2018
The late Queen is known to have warmly welcomed Meghan Markle into the royal fold. But she put her foot down when Meghan made an ‘inappropriate’ request regarding the Sussexes’ living arrangements.
Following Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, the monarch gifted them Frogmore Cottage, one of a number of properties on the sprawling Windsor Castle estate. But the couple had other ideas. According to The Times , Harry and Meghan wanted to live within the Castle itself and reportedly asked if “living quarters could be made available after their marriage”.
At the time, only the Queen and Philip had private apartments within the actual castle, with everyone else living elsewhere on the estate. However, the monarch deemed that ‘inappropriate’ and “politely but firmly suggested” that they live in Frogmore Cottage instead.
In her book The New Royals, royal expert Katie Nicholl says the Queen’s decision to give the couple Frogmore was a ‘big deal’ and that she had hoped Harry and Meghan would “respect” her generosity. Lady Elizabeth Anson, who died in 2020, 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.'”
Of course, Harry and Meghan no longer live on the Windsor estate. The couple stepped down from royal duties at the start of 2020 and moved to California, where they continue to live. They had hoped to keep their UK home but in March 2023 they were instructed to move out . A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan at the time confirmed they “have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage”. The move upset Harry, who no longer has a base in his home country and he is said to have begged his father to reconsider.
The home isn’t expected to lay empty for long, however, as the King, 75, is said to be urging his disgraced brother, Prince Andrew, to leave his 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor and move in. Royal expert Tom Quinn recently claimed that Harry isn’t happy with this latest development. “However deep the rift with his father and brother, Harry always had hopes that he and Meghan might eventually be allowed to re-establish Frogmore Cottage at Windsor as their UK base,” he told The Mirror.
“He will be deeply upset at the prospect of his uncle Prince Andrew moving into Frogmore – a very real prospect as King Charles insists that Andrew cannot continue to live at Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion on the Windsor estate where Andrew has lived for decades.”
He added: “For King Charles, forcing Andrew to move to Frogmore solves several problems at once – it sends a message to Harry that, as a private citizen and no longer a working royal, he will never be allowed back to Frogmore. “It sends a message to Andrew that having disgraced himself, he can no longer expect to live in the grand style. And, finally, it means that a suitably grand residence can be made ready for the royals who really matter – William and Kate. Charles is determined that Royal Lodge is the only residence on the royal estate at Windsor that is big enough and regal enough for his heir.”
Promoted Stories
