Frogmore Cottage: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Windsor home

Everything you need to know about the historic property that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle call home

Frogmore Cottage
(Image credit: Graham Prentice / Alamy Stock Photo)

Frogmore Cottage in Windsor is quite possibly the best known as the UK residence for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, where the couple will be residing over during their tour of Europe.

Frogmore Cottage was said to be one of the late Her Majesty The Queen's favorite royal residences and its occupants have been a source of great fascination over the years. Unsurprisingly, Frogmore Cottage is one of the world's best homes, and our adoration for the property is shared throughout the globe.

Where is Frogmore Cottage?

Frogmore House is an exceptional royal retreat in the grounds of Windsor Castle. It was originally constructed between 1680 and 1684 and was a great favorite of the royals, especially Queen Victoria who admired the peace and tranquillity. For almost 20 years, Frogmore was the home of Queen Victoria's mother, The Duchess of Kent. The cottage is currently leased to the Duke of Sussex.

Does Prince Harry own Frogmore cottage?

Today, the house is still owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who used £2.4m of taxpayer money to renovate the property. The news came in the wake of confirmation that the royal couple had signed a multi-million dollar contract with Netflix, and reports that they are no longer receiving funding from Prince Charles.

However, after the Duke and Duchess announced in January 2020 that they intended to step down as senior working members of the royal family and move to North America, they 'shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage.' The entire sum was reportedly settled in full by the Duke of Sussex in 2020. 

Following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's move to Los Angeles in early 2020, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank temporarily moved into the famous Windsor home. 

'Frogmore Cottage will continue to be the property of Her Majesty the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to use Frogmore Cottage – with the permission of Her Majesty The Queen – as their official residence as they continue to support the Monarchy,' according to the The Duke & Duchess of Sussex website.

Frogmore cottage

The Colonnade inside Frogmore House, Windsor Home Park. Frogmore House is where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's evening wedding reception was held

(Image credit: David Cattanach / Alamy Stock Photo)

How many bedrooms does Frogmore Cottage have?

Frogmore Cottage is a ten-bedroom house on the Windsor Estate. Before moving into the property in 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle approved extensive renovations of the historic home. 

The cost was rather staggering, even though the couple mostly paid for fixtures and fittings out of their own pocket. Frogmore Cottage, which had previously been split up into sections for private offices, was returned to a single residence, and major works, including replacing floor joists, ceiling beams and, rewiring the electrical system, and installing new gas and water mains.

The home is also said to have a swimming pool, guest house and tennis court. 

Frogmore cottage prince harry and meghan markle

(Image credit: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)

Who is living at Frogmore Cottage?

It is understood at the time that the property remain the Sussexes' residence in the UK, but it is believed that they were delighted to open it up to Eugenie and Jack ahead of their first child's arrival next year.

In February 2022, it was announced that Prince Harry planned to renew the lease on the cottage, which would allow him to remain domiciled in the UK. In May 2022, it was reported that Harry's lease of the property had been renewed, while Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank had moved out of the property to divide their time between London and Portugal.

The history of Frogmore Cottage

Frogmore Cottage was originally known as the Double Garden Cottage when it belonged belonged to Queen Charlotte, back in 1801. According to royal records, the home was built for £450 by a Mr Bowen. Queen Victoria's personal assistant Abdul Karim lived there, in 1897. It was later occupied by Russian royal the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, during the 1920s.

Before the name was changed to Frogmore Cottage, Queen Victoria had breakfast there in 1875 and noted the 'immense number of little frogs' which she amusingly described in her diary as 'quite disgusting'.

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Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan 

The unofficial story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's life together, finally revealing why they chose to step away from their royal lives and forge their own independent path.

Jennifer Ebert
Editor

Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.