Meghan Markle reportedly was unhappy when she was told to stay in Nottingham Cottage and not at Kensington Palace following her marriage to Prince Harry.
According to “Scandals of the Royal Palaces” author Tom Quinn, the former actress, 42, felt “shunted off” when she and Harry moved into the two-bedroom abode that is nestled on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Quinn told the Mirror‘s “Pod Save The Queen” podcast recently that Markle seemingly was “drawn in” by the idea of the royal family and was disheartened to learn she would be residing “in a little cottage” rather than a palace.
“I think that actually, she wasn’t too keen on that,” he said. “It seemed like they were being shunted off to a little prefab in the grounds.”
“Finding Freedom” authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, however, claimed that the “Suits” alum was ecstatic to live at the quaint bungalow.
They wrote in the biography: “After months of long-distance, Meghan was thrilled to finally be sharing a postcode, W8 4PY, with her partner.”
“She felt at home at [Nottingham Cottage] with Harry -— she’s always been able to bloom where she was planted, but she hadn’t moved to London to start a new job,” they added. “She had moved to London to start a new life.”
Nottingham Cottage was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first marital home, gifted by the late Queen Elizabeth, before they moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. In 2020, Harry, 38, and Markle made the grand move to Montecito, California, after opting to take a step back as senior members of the royal family.
In their Netflix series, “Harry & Meghan,” Harry described the residence as “lean” with “low ceilings.” Meghan added that it was “small.”
“As far as people were concerned we were living in a palace. [But] we were living in a cottage. On palace grounds,” Harry explained. “Kensington Palace sounds very regal of course, it does say palace in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was small.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton, meanwhile, lived in the same home for two years after getting married in 2011 before moving to Apartment 1A within Kensington Palace.
Harry and Markle married in 2018 at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. They have since welcomed two children, Archie and Lilibet Diana.
The couple are currently in Düsseldorf, Germany, for this year’s Invictus Games.
On Tuesday, they appeared on stage together at the “Friends @ Home Event” at the Station Airport during the third day of the event and made a rare joint speech.
“I’m really, really proud to be part of this Invictus family with all of you. I’m grateful for all of you that are here,” she told the crowd. “I just landed a couple hours ago and I am thrilled that the first event that I can do for Invictus is here with all of you. It is amazing and I hear the week so far has gotten off to a good start, is that right?”
Harry then chimed in: “First to the friends and family that are here, I understand that a lot of the competitors are hopefully sleeping after a very long day. But this is your chance to connect with each other because everyone here is in a different phase of their healing process, whether as an individual or as a family.”
