Nottingham Cottage 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.
| Nottingham Cottage | |
|---|---|
 Kensington Palace | |
 | |
| Alternative names | Nott Cott |
| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°30′21″N 0°11′19″W / 51.50582°N 0.18870°W |
| Owner | Crown Estate |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 1,324 square feet (123 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Christopher Wren |
Design and location
editNottingham Cottage is a house on the grounds of Kensington Palace.[2] The ceilings are noted for their lowness, with previous residents Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex having to stoop to avoid hitting their heads.[3][4] Marion Crawford, who resided at the cottage from 1948 to 1950, described it as "a dream 'of seasoned red brick ... with roses round the door'."[5] It is 1,324 square feet (123 m2) in size.[3][6] It stands near two other grace-and-favour houses, Ivy Cottage and Wren Cottage.[7]
The house was designed by Christopher Wren. Its name derives from Nottingham House, the former residence of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham: in 1689, the second Earl sold the property to William III and Mary II, who developed the estate as Kensington House, later Kensington Palace.[3][8]
History
editNottingham Cottage has previously been home to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and his wife, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.[9] Upon 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 left the cottage in 1950 in the aftermath of her selling stories about the royal family to newspapers, which was revealed publicly by The Sunday Express editor John Gordon in an attempt to pressure her to provide more stories and articles to him.[5]
The home was subsequently lent to Miles Hunt-Davis, private secretary of the Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Anita.[10] Robert Fellowes, private secretary to Elizabeth II, and his wife Lady Jane Fellowes, the sister of Diana, Princess of Wales, also occupied the cottage.[3]
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge used Nottingham Cottage as their London residence after their marriage from 2011 to 2013, splitting their time between the cottage and their home on the Bodorgan Estate in Wales.[11] The cottage was redecorated for the couple by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.[11] The Duke and Duchess resided there with their son Prince George after his birth, before moving to Kensington Palace in October 2013.[3]
Prince Harry moved into Nottingham Cottage from Clarence House following his brother's departure, with the house referred to as his "bachelor pad" after leaving the army.[3][12][13][14] It is also one of the places where Prince Harry says he proposed to Meghan Markle; they subsequently resided together at the cottage following their engagement.[3][15] In April 2019, the couple moved to Frogmore Cottage before the birth of their first child.[16][17] Harry has said in his book Spare that a physical altercation took place between him and William in the cottage kitchen.[18] Following their wedding, it was reported that Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi were to move into the cottage.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ "Inside Nottingham Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new home". Woman & Home. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Nottingham Cottage: The Kensington home where the Sussex's live as a married couple". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Victoria Ward (11 April 2018). "Nottingham Cottage: Meghan and Harry's cosy two-bed home in Kensington". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Yossman, K.J. (15 December 2022). "'Harry & Meghan' Volume II Most Explosive Claims: Prince William 'Bullied' the Couple Out of the Royal Family, King Charles 'Lied' About Them". Variety.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ a b Sarah Bradford (28 February 2002). Elizabeth: A Biography of Her Majesty the Queen. Penguin Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-141-93333-7.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Paul Burrell (2007). The Way We Were: Remembering Diana. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-725263-3.
- ^ Lysons, Daniel. "Kensington Pages 170-230 The Environs of London: Volume 3, County of Middlesex". British History Online. T Cadell and W Davies. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Kate Williams (historian) (10 May 2012). Young Elizabeth: The Making of our Queen. Orion Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-297-86782-1.
- ^ "Prince Philip's former Private Secretary dies aged 79". Express. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Will & Kate Move Into Kensington Palace Apartment, Buy Lots Of Air Freshener". HuffPost. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Penny Junor (11 September 2014). Prince Harry: Brother. Soldier. Son. Husband. Hodder & Stoughton. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4447-7794-9.
- ^ "Where is Nottingham Cottage - the place Prince Harry is staying ahead of Prince Philip's funeral". Nottingham News. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Harry and Meghan Will Soon Be William and Kate's Next-Door Neighbors". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Kim, Eun Kyung (27 November 2017). "Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle during 'cozy' night while roasting chicken". Today.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick (24 November 2018). "Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move to Frogmore House and begin family life". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 May 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Gonzales, Erica (4 April 2019). "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Just Officially Moved Out of London". Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin (4 January 2023). "Prince Harry details physical attack by brother William in new book". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Will this be Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's first marital home?". Tatler. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Princess Beatrice Might Move Into Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Home at Kensington Palace". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2 June 2021.