Royal author reveals her surprising reaction to first royal home
Nottingham Cottage, the two-bedroom residence on the grounds of Kensington Palace, was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first home together, but according to royal author Tom Quinn, Meghan was unimpressed with the modest accommodation.
Previously occupied by Prince William and Princess Kate, the cottage also served as a temporary home for Prince George after his birth. However, Meghan reportedly found it too small and saw it as a symbol of Harry’s lesser status within the royal family.
A palace staff member shared that Meghan struggled with the royal family's emphasis on humility and tradition, particularly after seeing William and Kate living in a grand apartment within Kensington Palace, complete with staff and luxurious amenities.
"A rather beautiful house in the grounds of a famous palace hardly seemed to Harry the equivalent to being forced to live in a shed at the end of the garden," Quinn wrote. "But for Meghan, things were more complex. She saw Kate and William living just a few yards away with live-in servants."
Prince Harry himself acknowledged the home’s modest nature in his memoir Spare, admitting: "I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed. Nott Cott was no palace."
Ahead of their son Archie’s birth, the couple relocated to Frogmore Cottage in 2019—a gift from Queen Elizabeth II. However, reports later suggested that Meghan was once again dissatisfied and allegedly made a request to the Queen regarding their living arrangements, which was deemed "inappropriate."
