Nottingham Cottage

Nottingham Cottage
Alternative names Nott Cott
General information
Type House
Town or city London
Country England
Coordinates 51°30′21″N 0°11′19″W / 51.505823°N 0.188713°W / 51.505823; -0.188713Coordinates: 51°30′21″N 0°11′19″W / 51.505823°N 0.188713°W / 51.505823; -0.188713
Current tenants Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Owner The Crown
Technical details
Floor area 1,324 square feet (123.0 m2)
Design and construction
Architect Christopher Wren

Nottingham Cottage (nicknamed "Nott Cott") is a house in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London.[1] As a grace-and-favour property, the house has been frequently occupied by members of the British royal family, as well as staff and employees.

Design and location

Nottingham Cottage has two bedrooms and reception rooms with a bathroom and small garden. It is 1,324 square feet (123.0 m2) in size.[2][3] It stands near two other grace-and-favour houses; Kent Cottage and Wren Cottage.[4]

Nottingham Cottage was designed by Christopher Wren. Its name derives from Nottingham House, the residence of the Earl of Nottingham from which Kensington Palace was expanded by William III and Mary II.[2]

Occupants

The house has been occupied by several people who have formerly been employees of the British Royal family. From her retirement in 1948, the house was given for life to Marion Crawford, the former governess of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. In gratitude for Crawford's service, Queen Mary, the princesses' grandmother, decorated the house with Victorian furniture and prints of flowers for her. Crawford described the house as a dream "of seasoned red brick...with roses round the door". Crawford left the cottage in 1950 in the aftermath of her selling stories about the Royal family to newspapers. Her departure from the cottage was made public knowledge by John Gordon, the editor and chief columnist of The Sunday Express, in the newspaper's Hardcastle column in an attempt to pressure her to provide more stories and articles to him.[5]

The cottage had been home to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and his wife, Princess Alice, before Crawford.[6] Later occupants included Sir Miles Hunt-Davis (the Private Secretary of the Duke of Edinburgh) and his wife Lady Anita Hunt-Davis; and Robert Fellowes (who served as Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II) and his wife Lady Jane Fellowes (the sister of Diana, Princess of Wales).[2]

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, lived in the cottage for two and a half years after leaving Anglesey where William had been stationed as a helicopter pilot. The couple lived there with the infant Prince George for a few months after his birth before moving to Apartment 1A in Kensington Palace in October 2013. The ceilings of the cottage are very low and William had to stoop to avoid hitting his head on them.[2]

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger brother of William, subsequently moved into the cottage following his brother's departure.[2][7] Harry proposed to Meghan Markle whilst cooking a roast chicken in the cottage. After their wedding in May 2018, the couple have continued living at the cottage.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Inside Nottingham Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new home". Woman & Home. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Victoria Ward (11 April 2018). "Nottingham Cottage: Meghan and Harry's cosy two-bed home in Kensington". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. ↑ Leslie Carroll (5 January 2010). Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire. Penguin Books. pp. 456–. ISBN 978-1-101-15977-4.
  4. ↑ Paul Burrell (2007). The Way We Were: Remembering Diana. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-725263-3.
  5. ↑ Sarah Bradford (28 Feb 2002). Elizabeth: A Biography of Her Majesty the Queen. Penguin Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-141-93333-7.
  6. ↑ Kate Williams (historian) (10 May 2012). Young Elizabeth: The Making of our Queen. Orion Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-297-86782-1.
  7. ↑ Penny Junor (11 September 2014). Prince Harry: Brother. Soldier. Son. Husband. Hodder & Stoughton. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4447-7794-9.
  8. ↑ Kim, Eun Kyung. "Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle during 'cozy' night while roasting chicken".
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