Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s sad milestone revealed
This week marks one year since the Duke of Sussex passed a major milestone in his split from the royal family.
Chaos over Nigerian First Lady’s ‘naked’ Meghan comments
‘I am shocked’: Prince Harry pick slammed
Meghan’s ‘brutal’ move in Beckham feud
‘Long shot bride’: Wild detail in Kate photo
This week marks one year since the Duke of Sussex passed a major milestone in his split from the royal family.
We’ve got much bigger fish to fry right now – how is Princess Anne recovering from her horsey head injury? Is equerry Rob Dixon up for the job of rubbing sunscreen into Prince William’s bald spot this summer? Do you think anyone is dusting Frogmore Cottage?
Saturday marks a sad day in the history of the joint – exactly one year since Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex officially changed his place of residence from the five-bedder to US of ‘hey didn’t you used to be royal?’
Somehow I doubt that King Charles mournfully marked the occasion but for 365 days, Frogmore has now stood silent and vacant, a great big white elephant of high-end tapware and granite splashbacks; a symbol of the long and sorry saga of the Sussexes.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Frogmore Cottage. Picture: Netflix
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Frogmore Cottage. Picture: Netflix
What June 29, 2023 symbolised was the official end of an era that had only barely begun a handful of years before.
It was in the warm months of 2016 that Harry Met Meghan; then in the warm months of 2018 Harry Married Meghan; and then in, you guessed it, the warming up months of 2019 Harry Moved Meghan to Frogmore, after the property underwent a $4.5 million reno.
It was a case of glorious beginnings, all around!
The couple had gotten themselves some nice cooktops, and in May had become parents with the arrival of their son Prince Archie.
Meghan and Harry welcomed baby Archie in May 2019. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/AFP
Meghan and Harry welcomed baby Archie in May 2019. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/AFP
It was meant to be the start of a joyous new era for the family, a reset after the teething troubles of their early months of their working royal life à deux.
The first stirring that all was not well had begun six months before, in the later months of 2018, with claims that things had soured with their Kensington Palace neighbours Prince William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The great shining promise of the Fab Four, the PR city on the hill, was starting to look more and more fanciful.
Meghan was alleged to have made Kate cry (the duchess later told Oprah Winfrey that it was her sister-in-law who had caused her to get teary) and Harry was said to have “raised his voice” at his Granny, “insisting,” “what Meghan wants, Meghan gets,” according to biographer Robert Jobson.
In October 2018, it would later emerge, Jason Knauf, then the couples’ communications secretary, had raised allegations that Meghan was bullying staffers, writing that her “treatment” of one person was “totally unacceptable.” The duchess has always strenuously denied the claims.
Then 2019 arrived and things swerved even further off track for the Sussexes with the former Suits star drawing fire over her A-list, six-figure New York baby shower and their decision to trade their Kensington Palace home Nottingham Cottage for Frogmore, a decision that required millions in spending from Sovereign Grant funds.
The cottage is situated on the Frogmore Estate, itself part of Home Park, Windsor, in Berkshire. Picture: GOR/Getty Images
The cottage is situated on the Frogmore Estate, itself part of Home Park, Windsor, in Berkshire. Picture: GOR/Getty Images
In March 2019, the Sussexes and William and Kate officially split their households (AKA their offices and staff) so that Harry and Meghan could set up shop inside Buckingham Palace, a move that, according to the Times, was “deliberately engineered by the [late] Queen’s office … to keep an eye on the Sussexes.”
The couples’ shared charity, The Royal Foundation, was “the one to watch … If it doesn’t hold together, that’s a real sign there’s a problem,” a former royal staffer told the Times.
And low, that was exactly what came to pass only five days later. So, in April 2019, what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s move to Frogmore represented was a new beginning! A hard reboot after a bumpy, rough stretch!
Sigh. In 2024, what Frogmore represents, now that Harry is officially domiciled in the same postcode multiple daytime Emmy winners, is so much promise squandered and wasted by the disregard and coldness of Crown Inc.
Meghan Markle at an art event in Los Angeles. Picture: Instagram
Meghan Markle at an art event in Los Angeles. Picture: Instagram
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a volleyball match in Abuja, Nigeria on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a volleyball match in Abuja, Nigeria on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Those remaining months of 2019, after Harry and Meghan moved to Frogmore, saw them dismissed or ignored by the powers that be, while they continued to suffer and stew. In November they jetted off to stare moodily out over the frigid waters of Vancouver Island as they plotted out a different future. Less than two months later, the Megxit klaxon would sound and the palace suddenly found itself well and truly stuffed.
What Frogmore Cottage signifies today is what could have been.
Harry, in falling in love with a professional, successful, bi-racial, American divorcee who did not own a single Alice band had serendipitously presented the palace with a boon it had probably never imagined.
In Meghan, here was a passionate and smart royal recruit who could connect with younger and more diverse audiences and could propel the fusty monarchical edifice into 21st century hearts.
In 1997 Tony Blair swept into Number Ten on a wave of Cool Britannia hype and the arrival of Meghan and the Sussexes’ love story was meant to be the palace’s own version.
But of course, it went wrong. So very, very wrong.
There was so much potential, until a feud rocked the ‘fab four’. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
There was so much potential, until a feud rocked the ‘fab four’. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Today, Frogmore standing empty symbolises how the palace managed to muck up what should have been a magnificent, glorious turning point in royal history.
What I have never understood is, in 2019, why wasn’t anyone listening to Harry and Meghan?
They didn’t have to agree with their list of grievances but why didn’t anyone with a bespoke three piece suit take the 20,000 feet view that losing Harry and Meghan simply could not be risked? That the situation needed to be managed, feelings assuaged and mental health support provided, and fast?
If only there has been some forum for a healthy ventilating of feelings from all sides and parties. If only Charles’ Clarence House and the late Queen’s Buckingham Palace offices had taken the Sussexes’ disquiet and struggles seriously and had not just dismissively waved them off, telling them to have a bit of a lie down and then get on with things.
At the time there were vague plans for the couple to potentially relocate or relocate for part of the year to somewhere in Africa. What I want to know is, why didn’t Charles and his people try harder to find a way to make something – anything – work for the duke and duchess?
The inevitable temptation in this little wander down memory lane is to want to start yelling when you spot all the junctures and pivot points where things could and should have gone differently; where the situation could have been pulled back from the brink and Megxit potentially averted.
But nope. For a year now Frogmore has sat empty after King Charles, seemingly devoid of anything like sentimentality turfed out his son and daughter-in-law, 24-hours after Spare hit shelves as he has attempted to downgrade useless human tuber Prince Andrew to the property.
His Majesty, meanwhile, is reported to have only met Archie on a handful of occasions and granddaughter Princess Lillibet once. ONCE.
So, farewell Frogmore and your glorious good taste, we hardly knew ye.
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.