Meghan Markle once described living in Kensington Palace as being like living in “a kind of prison”, an expert claimed. Royal biographer Tom Quinn wrote in his book “Kensington Palace” that the “initial glamour” of royal life for the American actress “wore off”, and she was left “horrified” at having to be routinely driven from the building to various official events. This did not last for long, however, as she and her husband Prince Harry moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor only months later, which was a wedding present from the late Queen Elizabeth II.
One builder told Mr Quinn that the property was extensively renovated to look like some sort of “Californian condo”. Meghan was reputedly frustrated as the prospect of these living arrangements, saying “I don’t want to retire to rural obscurity”. An insider told Mr Quinn: “Meghan realised that living there would be like living in the Russian steppe.”
The MailOnline writes that they added: “Its remoteness made Kensington seem like the centre of the universe.”
The couple believed that they would find peace in Windsor, away from the prying eyes of the media, it has been reported.
But Mr Quinn wrote: “As Meghan and Harry quickly discovered, their flight to Windsor did not mean an escape from the world’s enquiring eye; instead, it revealed to that world a lack of foresight.”
As King Charles sought to move his brother Andrew out of Royal Lodge in Windsor, it was revealed that he had had offered his younger brother Frogmore Cottage as an alternative home.
But Andrew purportedly saw this as a “demotion” too far and refused to move there.
Harry and Meghan now live with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on the Santa Barbara South Coast, Montecito, in California.
Their home is valued at around $30million (around £23million), according to reports.
