In the a recent episode of Netflix's Harry & Meghan, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's documentary series, the couple shared their thoughts – and a rare peek – into the first house in which the couple cohabitated, Nottingham Cottage. This month it has made headlines again with references to it in the leaked extracts from Harry's controversial new memoir, Spare.
Located on the verdant, manicured grounds of Kensington Palace, the cottage – affectionally known as ‘Nott Cott’ – is one of the smaller houses on the palace grounds. The cottage is modestly appointed with two bedrooms, one bathroom, small reception rooms, a kitchen and a compact back garden. The cottage was was the ideal “starter home” for Harry ("or, rather, bachelor pad," Harry jokingly admitted in the series), who first moved in 2013, after Prince William, Kate Middleton and newborn Prince George moved into the mansion Apartment 1A, following an extensive renovation. “As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace,” says Harry in an interview for the series, “We were. In a cottage.”
As his explosive new memoir leaked this week, it has now become notorious as the scene of Prince William's alleged attack on his brother in the kitchen during a discussion about Meghan. The extract relates that '(William) called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.'
In the Netflix series, various bits of footage show the couple in situ at the cottage, including one segment featuring an anxious Prince Harry pacing the cottage's back garden, “trying to do something about [the media]”, who had “surrounded” Meghan's house in Toronto, leaving her “stranded miles away” from Nott Cott. The slate tiling, cream-coloured picket fence and wire-framed sun chairs are all that comprise the cottage's outdoor space… in happier days, it is said that Harry affixed a hammock to two trees in the garden, now long gone.
Before the media frenzy, Nottingham Cottage was host to happier memories: it was in the kitchen where Harry proposed to Meghan whilst roasting a chicken and the living room was the scene in which the couple first announced their engagement to the world. “It was just a chapter in our lives where I don't think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes,” reflected Meghan on their time living together at Nott Cott.
Designed by Christopher Wren, the cottage's interiors combine contemporary comforts with traditional themes. The living room is wallpapered in striped cream colours and the furniture, mostly beige, is mostly classic pieces that still grant congenial surroundings. The lighting in Nott Cott is soft – a smart combination of warm floor lighting and strategically-placed, hidden overhead lighting. In an interview for the documentary series, the couple revealed the cottage's quirks.
“[The cottage] is on a slight lean with really low ceilings," said Harry, with Meghan adding, “he would just hit his head constantly in [Nott Cott] because he's so tall.” “I don't know who [the cottage] was for. They must have been short,” joked Harry. The cottage's overall size, too, was cause for concern: Meghan revealed that talkshow host “Oprah [Winfrey], who came over to Nott Cott for tea" had once mentioned that “no one would believe that we lived there”.
Since Prince Harry and Meghan's departure from Nottingham Cottage – a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II – Princess Eugenie, husband Jack Brooksbank and son August have relocated to the adorable house from Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. The more impressive ten-bedroom cottage still appears to be Harry and Meghan's UK residence.
