Prince Harry's new autobiography, Spare, tells of an alleged incident between him and his brother, William, the Prince of Wales, in Nottingham Cottage on Kensington Palace grounds.
Nottingham Cottage served as the couple's first home when Meghan first moved to London and consequently featured in their eponymous Netflix series. In the show, they share that the royal residence 'sounds like a palace' but, for them, it wasn’t. 'As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace,' Harry says in the documentary. 'And we were – in a cottage. In palace grounds.'
'Kensington Palace sounds very regal; of course, it does. It says "palace" in the name! But Nottingham Cottage was so small,' Meghan says. She adds that Harry would often hit his head in the same place because of his height. 'It was just a chapter in our lives where I don’t think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes.'
However, Nottingham Cottage is again making headlines following Harry's claims regarding Prince William's visit to Nottingham Cottage (also known as 'Nott Cott').
What is Nottingham Cottage?
The property was designed by acclaimed English architect Sir Christopher Wren, who also created St. Paul's Cathedral in London in the 17th century, following the Great Fire of London. Its name derives from Nottingham House, the residence of the Earl of Nottingham. Meghan and Harry lived there before moving to Frogmore Cottage in April 2019, ahead of the birth of their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.
How many bedrooms does Nottingham Cottage have?
The 1,324-square-foot home has two bedrooms, two reception rooms, and a bathroom. There is also a small country garden that leads onto the wider Kensington Palace estate.
Marion Crawford, a governess to Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), resided in the cottage from 1948 to 1950. She described it as 'a dream 'of seasoned red brick...with roses round the door' (according to Elizabeth: A Biography of Her Majesty the Queen by Sarah Bradford).
Who lives in Nottingham Cottage now?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved out of Nottingham Cottage in 2019, setting up their home in Frogmore Cottage following their wedding.
Nottingham Cottage is now home to another young royal family. The two-bedroom home on the grounds of Kensington Palace is currently reported to be home to Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their son August.
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