A princess living a life of luxury with her prince charming in a castle is the ending to many a fairy tale.
However, away from the Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauties, that is not the fate of most British princesses who instead tend to live in the cottages surrounding Windsor, in the apartments of Kensington Palace or other grace-and-favour homes.
But in Meghan Markle’s case she allegedly truly did believe that by marrying into the Royal Family she was destined to live in a royal castle.
The Duchess of Sussex instead took up residency first in Nottingham Cottage – in the grounds of Kensington Palace – and in Frogmore Cottage close to Windsor.
According to Royal insider Ingrid Seward, Meghan not only reportedly thought she was going to be living in a castle but was also ‘incredibly envious’ of Kate Middleton.
‘I think that Meghan must have been incredibly envious and then jealous of Kate. I heard Meghan actually thought she was going to be a princess and live in Windsor Castle.
‘Instead, there’s William and Kate with this beautiful house, while they are stuck in Nottingham Cottage which Harry used to call “my hovel”,’ Seward told the Daily Telegraph while promoting her book My Mother and I.
The so-called ‘hovel’ that Seward is referring to is a quaint cottage in the manicured grounds of Kensington Palace.
Meghan Markle inside Nottingham Cottage. The Duchess of Sussex thought she would be living inside a castle but instead took up residency in the cottage
Nottingham Cottage is a quaint two bedroom home within Kensington Palace’s grounds
Prince Harry and Meghan moved to Frogmore Cottage once Archie was born
By royal standards it is still a modest home featuring two bedrooms, one bathroom, small reception rooms and a kitchen.
But it did also have access to all the amenities in Kensington Palace and the other royal homes.
Meghan’s disdain for the ‘tiny’ Nottingham cottage is well documented.
Writing in his royal bestseller Yes Ma’am, Tom Quinn claimed that the first sign that all was not well with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex became apparent while they were living within the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Quinn said: ‘Starting life as a member of the royal family in Nottingham Cottage was the beginning of all Meghan’s troubles – she felt it was so small that it must be a reflection on how the royal family were belittling her husband.
‘She just didn’t understand that real royals don’t care much about houses and material possessions because having always had them they take them for granted.’
According to Quinn, Meghan not only believed the home was too small for her larger standards but she was ‘compounded by a vague feeling that the Kensington Palace staff tended to treat Harry as less important than his brother’.
At the time, Prince William and Kate Middleton lived in the much larger apartment 1A inside the palace itself.
Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey with Meghan sat behind her. One royal author claimed that Meghan believed staff treated Harry as less important than Prince William
Harry and Meghan inside the kitchen of Frogmore Cottage
Frogmore Cottage is a Grade II listed ten bedroom property is situated close to the much grander Frogmore House
A member of the communications team who was particularly close to Meghan told Quinn: ‘Meghan spotted immediately that Harry wasn’t quite as central to things as his brother William.
‘This was the start of the whole grievance thing about being the spare.
‘I don’t think Harry had even thought much about the fact that he was a spare until well into his marriage. Meghan managed to give him more perspective because she could see the family from the outside.’
During Harry and Meghan’s time living at Kensington Palace concerns were raised about their treatment of staff.
One member of staff told Quinn that Meghan could be ‘quite demanding’ and wanted to be involved in ‘every detail of her royal life’.
Complaints about their behaviour eventually reached Prince William who allegedly went ‘ballistic’ at the news.
Harry and Meghan then moved to the much larger Frogmore Cottage after Archie was born in 2019.
The Grade II listed ten bedroom property is situated close to the much grander Frogmore House.
Meghan had allegedly more run-ins with members of staff.
Royal Insider Ingrid Seward (pictured) said: ‘I think that Meghan must have been incredibly envious and then jealous of Kate. I heard Meghan actually thought she was going to be a princess and live in Windsor Castle’
During Harry and Meghan’s time living at Kensington Palace concerns were raised about their treatment of staff
In one instance it is claimed she was so rude to a royal gardener that the late Queen Elizabeth II was forced to intervene.
According to esteemed royal historian Hugo Vickers, there was ‘trouble’ while Harry and Meghan were living at the royal house between 2019 and March 2020.
In one incident, the Duchess of Sussex was allegedly so rude to an under gardener that the head gardener in Windsor felt the need to complain to the late Queen, who then drove over to Meghan to give her a dressing down.
‘The head gardener went to complain to the Queen and she told Meghan off because she obviously didn’t like people being rude to staff,’ Mr Vickers told The Sun.
Away from the palace, Meghan has developed a reputation in the workplace for being difficult to work with.
In September 2024, an unnamed source told another publication that they witnessed ‘people being chewed up in person and over the phone and made to feel like s***’.
Harry inside Nottingham Cottage while they were living in the residency
Meghan with Prince Harry outside Kensington Palace after they announced their engagement . One member of staff said Harry’s ‘grievances’ about being the spare started when the couple moved into Nottingham Cottage
Another source claimed that Meghan ‘screamed’ at a florist down the phone for half an hour after they failed to mention in a post online that the Duchess of Sussex was working with them on a bouquet.
However, other reports about Meghan’s behaviour have claimed she is not so difficult to work with.
Producer Jane Marie, who worked with Harry and Meghan during development of Archewell audio projects, insisted to Vanity Fair that Meghan is ‘just a lovely, genuine person’.
Other staff members have claimed that she would end her employees gifts ranging from dog leashes to skincare products.
