ROYAL SHOCK
THE ROYAL COUPLE ARE SET TO CALL WINDSOR HOME
Harry and Meghan move out
On paper, it sounded ideal. Two very close brothers and their families, living side by side in luxury apartments in the palace where they grew up with their beloved mum.
With adjoining gardens, interconnecting doors, ample opportunities for the kids to play together and their parents to enjoy each other’s company... what could have been better than Prince Harry and new wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, setting up home next door to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, at Kensington Palace?
As perfect as it might have seemed, it’s not happening.
There were rumours that
Harry and Meghan would move into an apartment alongside the one William and Kate live in with their children Prince George
(5), Princess Charlotte (3) and Prince Louis (7 months), once it was vacated by its current residents, the Duke and
Duchess of Gloucester. But that idea was scotched last week with the announcement that the parents-to-be are instead moving to a cottage on the grounds of Winsdor Castle.
The couple have been given the cottage by the Queen, and will move in around autumn next year – before their baby is born and after extensive renovations are carried out.
The news came as a surprise, with many thinking the move to Apartment 1 at Kensington Palace from their current abode on palace grounds, Nottingham Cottage, was a done deal.
There was instant speculation that the reason Harry (34) and Meghan (37) have opted to live 35km from London in Windsor was because sisters-in-law Meghan and Kate (36) don’t get on.
“The new Duchess of Sussex hasn’t forged a particularly close relationship with the Duchess of Cambridge,” says a royal commentator. “Apparently there hasn’t been a dramatic falling out, but Meghan and Kate are just very different people.”
Meghan is “an acquired taste” and she hasn’t quite slotted into royal life just yet, says the source. “She’s a woman who has lived life into her 30s in her way, she’s been a relatively successful actress, has her own humanitarian interests and her own circle of friends. She is very self-sufficient.
“Understanding the palace way, the deference, the politics and the fact that there’s a pecking order is taking a while for Meghan to get her head
around. She’s quite opinionated.
“But while there are some tensions behind the scenes,
Kate is pretty unflappable and nothing has become bad enough to make Harry and Meghan want to move out.”
And while Harry and his older brother William (36) still get on extremely well, Harry realises he needs to spread his wings, says a friend of the brothers.
“The idea of the two of them as ‘the boys’, the brothers doing everything together and living in each other’s pockets, has been pushed with good intentions, but hasn’t really existed for some time,” the friend tells. “The truth is they have both just grown up. They are rare in that they live together and work together, but there has been a stepping back.
“They are still incredibly close, closer than most siblings, but now Harry has married and is about to become a father, so it’s a good time for him to be planning his own future. There is no acrimony.”
Another pal adds, “Harry knows he will always be in William’s shadow and for many years he has felt like a spare wheel, dragging along behind his brother and Kate. Now he has a life of his own and a family of his own. It’s perfectly natural to want to be more independent.”
Harry and Meghan made the decision to move to Frogmore Cottage shortly after returning to the UK from their trip to New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tonga earlier this month. The house has recently been used as accommodation for staff at Windsor Castle and is divided into five units, so needs a lot of work to transform it into a five-bedroom home for the Sussexes and their new baby.
The couple is keen to live there partly because they have a special affinity with Windsor. Their wedding was held there, at St George’s Chapel, and they had their reception at neighbouring Frogmore House.
Frogmore Cottage has the added bonus of more privacy than Kensington Palace.
Parts of the palace are open year round to the public, and while the Cambridges’ home has a garden for George, Charlotte and Louis, there isn’t a huge amount of space. A large grassy area to one side of the palace would be a good place for children to run around in, but it can be easily seen by passersby heading to Kensington Gardens.
By contrast, Frogmore is inside Windsor’s security zone, and the main house is only open to the public a couple of days a year. “It is secluded, peaceful and most importantly, private,” says the friend. “No-one will see them coming and going.”
This will suit Harry just fine, as he “wants to escape the goldfish bowl of royal life.
“While he loves his brother and his little niece and nephews, he has to put his own family first and is keen to move out.”