The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had hoped to move into an “apartment suite at Windsor Castle” but were given Frogmore Cottage instead, states Katie Nicholl’s book, “The New Royals.” Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan Markle, 41, reportedly had their hearts set on the queen’s Berkshire residence but were disappointed.
“When Harry and Meghan announced their desire to move out of Kensington Palace, the Queen offered them Frogmore Cottage in Windsor Great Park as their new home,” writes Nicholl, in an excerpt first published in the Mail On Sunday.
“This was not the set of apartments in Windsor Castle that they had hoped for. It was a generous gesture nonetheless,” recalled Lady Elizabeth Anson, who died in 2020.
“The cottage was a big deal. The queen’s entrance to the gardens is right next to her cottage. It’s essentially her backyard, her solitude and her privacy. She was giving that up by giving Harry and Meghan Frogmore Cottage. Everyone We thought that was very big of him,” he said.
Elsewhere, Nicholl claims the late queen was surprised divorcee Meghan opted for a white wedding dress, and also scolded the duchess for reprimanding a kitchen worker who was preparing a special meal for her.
“The wedding day (of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) was a great success, although the queen had reservations about the pure white of Meghan’s Givenchy dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller,” he said.
According to a source: “The queen was surprised that Meghan wore pure white on her wedding day. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but she thinks if you’ve been married before, you wear off-white on your wedding day, which is what the Duchess of Cornwall did.”
However, eager to support anyone who marries into her family, the queen went to great lengths to meet the new duchess. She continued: “Meghan’s direct approach had even come to the notice of the queen.”
On one occasion, in the run-up to the wedding, Meghan went to Windsor Castle for a menu tasting and ended up having a tense exchange with a member of staff, according to a source.
“Meghan was at the castle to sample some of the dishes and she told one of the vendors that she could try the egg. She got pretty upset, saying the dish was meant to be vegan and macrobiotic, when all of a sudden the queen walked in and said, ‘Meghan, in this family we don’t talk to people like that.’”
Another book with explosive statements
Nicholl has published one of only two books to make explosive claims about the royal family. A second, “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown” by Valentine Low, claims Meghan thought she would be the “Beyoncé of the UK” when she married Prince Harry, before discovering she hated the strict rules of royal life. and then resigned from his duties.
The book, which was featured in “The Times,” also has allegations that the queen was forced to put her foot in Megxit and told the Sussexes they were “in or out” at the Sandringham summit where the royals decided Harry and Meghan’s future.
Low said the royals met at the so-called “Sandringham summit” five days after the Duke and Duchess announced their plans to step down as senior royals on January 8, 2020. During initial deliberations, the queen wanted all four royal houses to work together quickly to find a solution.
In the days that followed, meetings were held at Clarence House, then the home of Prince Charles, including the secretaries of all four households, before discussions moved to Buckingham Palace.
Simon Case, Prince William’s private secretary, was also involved, “talking to both sides,” the newspaper reported. These included five possible scenarios, including giving the Duke and Duchess a month each year for their own activities, or taking on only a small number of commitments and spending most of their time doing other things.
As part of these options, general rules would apply about not making decisions for financial or material gain, either for themselves or their friends. A former palace member said: “I think Meghan thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the UK.”
“What he discovered was that there were so many rules that were so ridiculous that he couldn’t even do the things that he could do as a private individual, which is difficult,” he said.
But another called it an impossible task, with the two worlds of royalty and celebrity unable to understand each other. They said the Duchess could not fit the model of a working royal, and that the palace could not accept “who she wanted to be.”
Low writes that it was the monarch herself who felt that unless the couple were willing to follow the rules that apply to all working royals, “they would not be allowed to carry out official duties”.
ABC