Frogmore Cottage

Coordinates: 51°28′35″N 0°35′53″W / 51.4763°N 0.5980°W / 51.4763; -0.5980
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Frogmore Cottage
The cottage in 1872[1]
Map
General information
LocationFrogmore, Home Park
Town or cityWindsor, Berkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°28′35″N 0°35′53″W / 51.4763°N 0.5980°W / 51.4763; -0.5980
Completed1801
OwnerThe Crown Estate
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFrogmore Cottage in Frogmore Grounds
Reference no.1117778[2]

Frogmore Cottage is a historic Grade II listed home on the Frogmore estate, which is part of Home Park in Windsor, England. The cottage was described as a 5,089 sq ft (472.8 m2), four bedroom and nursery, four bathroom single-residence house in 2020.[3]

Built in 1801 at the direction of Queen Charlotte in the gardens near Frogmore House, Frogmore Cottage is part of the Crown Estate, the British monarch's public estate

History

The cottage was originally known as Double Garden Cottage and was listed in Queen Charlotte's 1801 accounts for her garden as having been built for £450 by a Mr Bowen.[4] Queen Victoria had breakfast at the cottage on 28th June 1875 and noted an "immense number of little frogs" which she found "quite disgusting".[5] The cottage has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since October 1975. The listing provides little of the history: "Early C19 plain 2 storey house with parapet. Centre break with porch. Glazing bar sashes. Stucco faced".[6]

19th and 20th century occupants

The cottage was a retreat for Charlotte, the queen consort of George III, and her unmarried daughters.[7] The theologian Henry James Sr. and his family lived at the cottage in the 1840s.[8] A personal secretary of Queen Victoria, Abdul Karim, moved to Frogmore Cottage in 1897 with his wife and father.[9][10] Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna in exile from her native Russia after the Russian Revolution stayed there in the 1920s.[11]

21st century occupants

In the early 21st century, Frogmore Cottage was a series of five separate units housing Windsor estate workers.[12] In 2019, it was provided to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a grace and favour home by Elizabeth II,[13] and converted into a four-bedroom-and-nursery single-family home at a reported cost of £2.4 million from the Sovereign Grant prior to the birth of their son, Archie, in May 2019.[14][15] As a property of a royal palace of state and designated heritage site, Frogmore Cottage was scheduled to be renovated in any event, regardless of occupant.[16][17]

In January 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were stepping down as senior working members of the royal family and shared the couple's "wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage"[18] as they were relocating to North America. In September, £2.4 million was received, a part of which was offset against rental payments due. Subsequently, the existing licence to occupy the property was extended to March 2022.[19][20] By 2023, the couple were well-settled in their new principal place of residence in Montecito, California in the United States.[21][22] The licence to occupy Frogmore was not re-extended, so they officially vacated.[23][24]

Princess Eugenie - the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York - and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, took up residence at the cottage in November 2020,[25][26][27] effectively as sub-tenants of their cousin Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. In February 2022, the Duke of Sussex and his wife announced a desire to renew the licence to occupy, which would allow Harry to remain legally domiciled in the UK for citizenship and immigration purposes.[28] In May 2022, Eugenie reportedly vacated.[29] In March 2023, her father (Andrew) had been offered Frogmore Cottage in exchange for surrendering his lease on the nearby thirty-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.[30][31]

References

  1. ^ "Frogmore Cottage, Windsor 1860-69". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Frogmore Cottage in Frogmore Grounds (Grade II) (1117778)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Everything we know about Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan's UK home". House & Garden. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  4. ^ Jane Roberts, Lady Roberts (1997). Royal Landscape: The Gardens and Parks of Windsor. Yale University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-300-07079-8.
  5. ^ Queen Victoria (25 September 2014). The Letters of Queen Victoria. Cambridge University Press. p. 410. ISBN 978-1-108-07780-4.
  6. ^ Historic England, "Frogmore Cottage in Frogmore Grounds (1117778)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 8 July 2019
  7. ^ Daniel Maudlin (24 July 2015). The Idea of the Cottage in English Architecture, 1760 - 1860. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-64315-9.
  8. ^ Jenny Helin; Tor Hernes; Daniel Hjorth; Robin Holt (15 May 2014). The Oxford Handbook of Process Philosophy and Organization Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-19-164810-6.
  9. ^ Scientific American: Supplement. Munn and Company. 1897. p. 18255.
  10. ^ Greg King (4 June 2007). Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year. John Wiley & Sons. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-470-04439-1.
  11. ^ Toby Faber (4 September 2008). Faberge's Eggs: One Man's Masterpieces and the End of an Empire. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-71396-3.
  12. ^ "Search for planning applications". publicaccess.rbwm.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  13. ^ "What Does Harry and Meghan's Eviction From Frogmore Cottage Mean for Their Future in the U.K.?". Vogue. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  14. ^ Sawer, Patrick (3 March 2019). "Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move to Frogmore House and begin family life". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  15. ^ Gonzales, Erica (4 April 2019). "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Just Officially Moved Out of London". Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  16. ^ "PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE'S HOME RENOVATIONS COST TAXPAYERS £2.4M". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  17. ^ Murphy, Victoria (24 June 2019). "Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Renovations to Frogmore Cottage Cost $3.05 Million in Public Funds". Town & Country. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Statement from Her Majesty The Queen | The Royal Family". Royal.uk. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Prince Harry: Frogmore Cottage renovation cost repaid". BBC News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Prince Harry and Meghan refund UK taxpayers for home renovation". Reuters. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  21. ^ Furness, Hannah (19 February 2022). "Prince Harry will renew Frogmore Cottage lease to keep serving Queen". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, spokesperson says". Sky News. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  23. ^ Ward, Victoria (1 March 2023). "Sussexes 'weren't told' Prince Andrew would move into Frogmore once they leave". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Harry and Meghan have left Frogmore Cottage, palace confirms". Sky News. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  25. ^ Perry, Simon. "Princess Eugenie Moves Into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Frogmore Cottage Home". People. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  26. ^ "The peacekeeper princess: How Eugenie quietly became the great royal confidante". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 April 2021. The answer is what many had long expected: his cousin Eugenie, who recently gave birth to Archie's cousin, August, and has been living with her husband Jack Brooksbank at the Sussexes' property Frogmore Cottage on the Queen's Windsor estate.
  27. ^ Thomas, Aled (23 March 2022). "Princess Eugenie celebrates birthday at home in Frogmore Cottage". Gloucestershire Live.
  28. ^ Furness, Hannah (19 February 2022). "Prince Harry will renew Frogmore Cottage lease to keep serving Queen". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  29. ^ Tominey, Camilla (30 May 2022). "Princess Eugenie and husband Jack move to Portugal as Sussexes renew Frogmore Cottage lease". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Harry and Meghan residence Frogmore Cottage offered to Andrew - reports". BBC News. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  31. ^ Petit, Stephanie (1 March 2023). "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Told 'to Vacate' Their U.K. Home, Frogmore Cottage". People. Retrieved 1 March 2023.