The Duke and Duchess of Sussex officially vacated Frogmore Cottage in Windsor in 2023
Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving their family back to the U.K.
- They will not be living in a royal residence, though the exact details of their new home remain private
- Before they stepped back from their royal roles in 2020, Harry and Meghan lived at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a major move back to the U.K., but they won’t be living in a royal residence.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are moving their family back to the U.K. this month, and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, will begin school there in September, PEOPLE understands.
Details about the location of the family’s new home and the children’s school are being kept private. However, PEOPLE understands that the family will not be moving into a royal property.
Prince Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will also retain their residence in Montecito, California— where they moved in 2020 after stepping back from their roles as senior working royals — and their vacation property in Portugal.
Credit: Meghan Markle/Instagram
Meghan officially moved into Harry’s home of Nottingham Cottage — a 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom abode located within the grounds of Kensington Palace in London — after their engagement. In their 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, they recalled Oprah Winfrey’s reaction to visiting the small home for tea: “She goes, ‘No one would ever believe it!’ “ Harry said on the show.
As their family expanded with the birth of their first child, Prince Harry and Meghan lived at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, England. Queen Elizabeth gifted them the property as a wedding present in 2018 and, after making major renovations, they moved in the following year, shortly before Prince Archie was born.
After their move to Montecito, the couple retained Frogmore and stayed there when they returned to the U.K. in June 2022 for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee festivities. That trip was Archie and Lili’s last time in the U.K. for four years, prior to their July reunion with King Charles.
Prince Harry and Meghan again used Frogmore as a base during the late Queen’s funeral events in September 2022, and the world got glimpses of their U.K. home in the Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, released that December.
In March 2023, PEOPLE confirmed that the couple was “requested to vacate Frogmore Cottage” several weeks after the publication of Prince Harry’s revealing memoir, Spare. They officially moved out of Frogmore Cottage in June 2023, with a source telling PEOPLE at the time that they were ”matter-of-fact” about the situation.
Earlier this year, The Sun reported that plans to “reverse” the roughly $3 million worth of renovations Harry and Meghan made to Frogmore prior to moving in. The outlet said that several options were under consideration regarding what to do with the house next.
Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
In August 2020, the couple purchased their nine-bedroom house in Montecito, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. There, neighbors included famous friends like Oprah Winfrey, Katharine McPhee and David Foster.
The California coastal vibes were heavily featured in Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, though the interiors were actually shot in a nearby rental home. Her As ever brand also featured close ties to the region, from locally-sourced honey to the scent of California poppies in one of the signature candles.
Even the brand’s logo drew inspiration from their Montecito home. In a 2022 interview with The Cut, Meghan shared how, when they first toured the house, Harry’s eye was drawn to two palm trees that connected at the base in their backyard.
“One of the first things my husband saw when we walked around the house was those two palm trees,” she said. “See how they’re connected at the bottom? He goes, ‘My love, it’s us.’ “
“And now every day when Archie goes by us, he says, ‘Hi, Momma. Hi, Papa,’ “ Meghan added.
PEOPLE understands that Meghan will continue leading As ever from the couple’s international bases.
Credit: As Ever/Instagram
Despite the move back to the U.K., Prince Harry and Meghan won’t go back to having royal roles. King Charles is said to have been clear that there will be no change to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s status as private individuals and non-working members of the royal family, keeping with the wishes they expressed and the agreement reached when they stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
Read the full article here
