Prince Harry and Meghan: Royal residence they deemed ‘so small’ could be worth over £1.3 million

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lamented their former central London cottage in the final three episodes of their Netflix docuseries.

Nottingham Cottage

Nottingham Cottage, located just a stone’s throw away from Kensington Palace, was bought by King William III and Queen Mary II in 1689. It was later remodelled by architect Christopher Wren, who designed St Paul’s Cathedral.

The 1,324 sq feet cottage (approximately 120m2) is believed to have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a reception room and a small garden.

Over the years, the Cottage, despite being relatively small for a Royal residence, has been home to many Royals and aides alike.

A notable former residence of Nottingham Cottage is Marion Crawford, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret’s former nanny. She called the cottage a 'dream come true'. Crawford is thought to be the first servant to cash in on the Royal Family. In 1950, the former nanny wrote a tell-all book called The Little Princesses. This was considered an unforgivable sin, and the relationship Crawford once had with the Royal family was terminated.

Other residents include Miles Hunt-Davis, Prince Philip’s private secretary, Robert Fellowes, the Queen’s private secretary, and his wife Lady Jane Fellowes (the older sister of Princess Diana), and the Queen’s uncle, Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester.

Prince William and Kate Middleton also lived in the quaint cottage for a couple of years before they vacated the two-bedroom house in 2013, shortly after the birth of Prince George, to move into Princess Margaret’s former Kensington Palace apartment.

Sounding a tad ungrateful?

Prince Harry moved into Nottingham Cottage in 2013, living alone for four years before meeting Meghan. Meghan Markle joined Prince Harry in 2017, and they both called ‘Nott Cott’ their home until 2019, when the pair moved to Frogmore Cottage.

Prince Harry said:

The whole thing's on a slight lean. Really low ceilings, I don't know who was there before. They must have been short.

Of Nottingham Cottage, the Duchess of Sussex said:

Kensington Palace sounds very regal. Of course, it does. It says ‘palace’ in the name, but Nottingham Cottage was so small.

She added that Prince Harry was ‘constantly’ banging his head on the low ceilings. According to The Telegraph, the ceilings are indeed so low that when Prince William lived there, he had to 'stoop' to avoid banging his head.

Many Royal fans have commented that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sound ungrateful, pointing out that they didn't have to pay for their central London location and that many people dream of a 'starter home' like this.

Rightmove told The Mirror that the average asking price for a two-bed in Kensington is £1,361,436, and a Royal home like this would certainly be worth even more.

Sources used:

- My London: Royal Family's cottage in the middle of London that's gone unused for nearly 5 years

- The Telegraph: How big is Nottingham Cottage really? The home ‘so small’ for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

- The Times: Inside Nottingham Cottage: Sussexes’ ‘small’ home with a big history