In the book, he talked about how he and Meghan acquired Frogmore Cottage, explaining that in 2019, when she was pregnant with their now-4-year-old son Prince Archie, his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, offered the home to him as an official residence after he told her that they “needed a new place to live.” He further noted that their Nottingham Cottage home in Kensington Palace was “charming but too small.”
Prior to moving in, the couple had Frogmore Cottage renovated, transforming five apartment units to a single residence. Harry noted that the Queen gave him and Meghan the permission to pursue the project to, as he put in, “make the place habitable.”
The project cost 2.4 million British pounds ($3 million) and was initially covered by the Sovereign Grant, which comes from the U.K. Treasury and funds the costs of the Royal family’s households and travel expenses. Harry and Meghan sparked a public backlash over their use of government money and ultimately repaid the renovation costs.
In mid-2020, the couple—now also parents to daughter Princess Lilibet, 2—relocated to the United States, buying a $14 million home in the duchess’ native California. Harry last visited Frogmore Cottage in earlier this month during a trip to London to testify against Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd. in a phone hacking case, to which the company has denied any wrongdoing.
