Meghan Markle hasn’t been shy about admitting that the royal life wasn’t for her, but it sounds like she may have made up her mind about that long before the rest of the world found out. According to what royal author Tom Quinn wrote in his book Yes Ma’am, the Duchess of Sussex didn’t exactly get off to a good start when she immediately felt “disdain” as she moved into her first home on the Kensington Palace grounds, Nottingham Cottage.
Once she and Prince Harry were married — and before they renovated and moved into Frogmore Cottage — the newlyweds called Nottingham Cottage home. According to Vogue, it’s a pretty tiny spot. It spans just 1,324 square feet and has two bedrooms, and was Harry’s bachelor pad before he settled down with Meghan.
But apparently, Meghan believed that she and Harry deserved something a bit grander as they began their lives as a married couple.
“Starting life as a member of the royal family in Nottingham Cottage was the beginning of all Meghan’s troubles — she felt it was so small that it must be a reflection on how the royal family were belittling her husband,” Tom wrote. “She just didn’t understand that real royals don’t care much about houses and material possessions because having always had them they take them for granted.”
While living there, Meghan had a firsthand look at how Harry was treated by Kensington Palace staff, and she didn’t like what she saw there, either.
‘I don’t think Harry had even thought much about the fact that he was a spare until well into his marriage,” Tom said in the book. “Meghan managed to give him more perspective because she could see the family from the outside.”
They didn’t end up living at Nottingham Cottage for long, though. In 2019, the year after they got married, they moved into Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but they didn’t stay there long, either. By 2020, they had their minds made up that they were ready to walk away from royal life entirely, and in the future, King Charles would require them to fully move out of Frogmore Cottage after they’d made America their permanent residence.
In the end, everything worked out for the best … but maybe things would have been different if Nottingham Cottage hadn’t been Meghan’s first impression of the royals? Guess we’ll never know …
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
