Meghan Markle’s 2-Word Comparison for Nottingham Cottage ‘Embarrassed’ Prince Harry
TL;DR:
- Prince Harry gave Meghan Markle a tour of Nottingham Cottage in 2016.
- In Spare, Prince Harry admitted he’d been “embarrassed” to show Meghan Markle his home.
- Meghan Markle compared it to a “frat house.”
Bringing Meghan Markle to Nottingham Cottage had Prince Harry feeling “excited” and “embarrassed,” according to Spare. In his memoir, the Duke of Sussex revealed how his now-wife reacted to seeing the modest bachelor pad he called home. Plus, what piece of furniture the Duchess of Sussex didn’t approve of.
Harry was relieved when Meghan said nothing about Nottingham Cottage’s exterior
After connecting on Instagram, meeting at a London restaurant, and traveling to Botswana together, Harry brought Meghan to Nottingham Cottage. Also known as Nott Cott, the property’s located on Kensington Palace grounds in London, England, near Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Apartment 1A.
Harry recalled showing Meghan around his home for the first time in Spare, which hit shelves on Jan. 10, 2023.
“I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed: Nott Cott was no palace,” he said (via Spare). “Nott Cott was palace adjacent—that was the best you could say for it.”
Harry continued, saying Meghan, who visited Nott Cott for the first time in 2016, gave nothing away when she was the house for the first time.
“When Meghan arrived I watched her as she walked up the front path, through the white picket fence,” Harry recalled. “To my relief she made no sign of dismay, gave no indication of disillusionment.”
Meghan Markle compared the inside to a ‘frat house’ which Prince Harry thought ‘wasn’t far off’
Any “disillusionment” Meghan might’ve held back she revealed after crossing the threshold. The now-41-year-old walked through Nott Cott’s door and “then she said something about a frat house.”
“I glanced around. She wasn’t far off,” Harry said in Spare. “Union Jack in the corner. (The one I’d waved at the North Pole.) Old rifle on the TV stand. (A gift from Oman, after an official visit.) Xbox console.”
Harry replied, telling Meghan Nott Cott was “just a place to keep” his “stuff” as he shuffled “around some papers and clothes,” before adding he didn’t spend “much” time there.
“It was also constructed for smaller people, humans of a bygone era,” Harry noted in his memoir. “Thus the rooms were tiny and the ceilings were doll’s house low. I gave her a quick tour, which took 30 seconds. ‘Mind your head!’”
“I’d never noticed until then just how shabby the furniture was,” Harry revealed. “Brown sofa, browner beanbag chair.” Meghan, he wrote, “paused before the beanbag,” with him saying, “I know, I know.”
Harry and Meghan now live in a 19,000-square-foot home in California
After living at Nott Cott together, then Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan bought a sprawling home in Montecito, California. The now-parents of two purchased the property, complete with a pool, guest house, and wine cellar, in 2020 after falling in love with the grounds.
“We did everything we could to get this house,” Meghan said in an August 2022 interview with The Cut. “You walk in and go …” she said as she took a deep breath. “Joy. And exhale. And calm. It’s healing. You feel free.”
