13 August 2023 , 15:02
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The Windsor Estate has been the home to the Royal Family for almost 1,000 years, with the late Queen and Prince Philip, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson among the most recent residents.
The vast estate contains a number of properties, including huge mansions and cosier cottages, which the Queen gifted to her loved ones over the years.
This included Frogmore Cottage, which she gifted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their stunning royal wedding back in 2018. However, according to reports the couple actually requested a different property, but the Queen deemed it "inappropriate" and "firmly" rejected it.
Frogmore Cottage was gifted to the couple after their wedding (PA)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 Prince Philip had private apartments within the actual castle, with everyone else living elsewhere on the estate. However, the late monarch is said to have "politely but firmly suggested" that they live in nearby Frogmore Cottage instead. A further claim about the decision to give her grandson and his wife the impressive home as a wedding gift was made in royal expert Katie's Nicholl's book The New Royals.
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The late Queen was said to have hoped Harry and Meghan would "respect" the move (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)Nicholl wrote that the late Lady Elizabeth Anson, who died in 2020, said the Queen described the Windsor home as a "big deal" and shared her hopes that Harry and Meghan would "respect" her generosity. Lady Elizabeth 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.'"
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the couple had been evicted from their Windsor home, with the keys thought to have been offered to Prince Andrew in exchange for his Royal Lodge residence. A source close to the couple denied that the pair were shocked by the decision as they told The Times: “It is what it is. They are not fighting it.
"They realise they have a home [in California]. They have a roof over their heads. They were very privileged to have a second residence. It’s not going to work out for them there, and that’s OK."
The source added that "the world seems to be more distraught over it than they have been" and accept that "change was inevitable" as the King was always planning to have a slimmed-down the monarchy.