Everything We Know About Nottingham Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Mysterious Love Shack
What luxuries await the newly engaged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Nottingham Cottage, the fabled royal love nest where the pair will begin their life together?
We wish we knew.
Scant details are available about the mysterious cottage, which is said to be one of the smallest buildings on the grounds of Kensington Palace. Various reports on the tiny building, called “Nott Cott” for short, conflict as to whether the cottage is two bedrooms or one and disagree about the number of bathrooms. An official reached by phone at Kensington Palace could not give information on the cottage’s history or square footage.
In a world where we know all the juicy details about Paris Hilton’s two-story doggie mansion and can gaze in envy at Rachael Ray’s perfect home kitchen with the click of a mouse, it is surprising that the modest cottage, which has been occupied by Prince Harry since 2013, is shrouded in mystery, save for a few details. Instagrams don't exist, nor does YouTube footage. Nott Cott tweets? Nice try.
Here is what we know about the cottage where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will call home.
Nottingham Cottage is quaint by royal standards
The cottage was designed by Christopher Wren, the architect who built St. Paul’s Cathedral, former resident Marion Crawford wrote in her 1950 memoir The Little Princesses: The Story of the Queen's Childhood by Her Nanny, Marion Crawford. While the two buildings were constructed by the same architect, the cottage does not share the cathedral's soaring heights. Rather, the ceilings at the cottage are reportedly so low that Prince William had to duck to avoid bumping his head, The Telegraph reported.
Additionally, the cottage is said to have no air conditioning. When William and Kate lived in the home, the couple had to set up fans in every room to compensate, according to Vanity Fair.
What the cottage lacks in luxury it may recoup in charm. According to Crawford's memoir, Nott Cott “looks as if it had got to London quite by mistake from some distant country place.”
Crawford described the tiny cottage as a red brick building with a tiled roof, little white gate and fragrant garden.
Prince Harry proposed in Nott Cott’s kitchen
In a BBC interview Monday, Prince Harry and Markle confirmed that the proposal took place “here at our cottage” while the pair prepared roast chicken.
Were the two preparing the dish in a deluxe chef's kitchen complete with Sub-Zero fridge and convection stove? Or did they fire up the old gas oven and wait an extra 15 minutes for it to preheat, just like us commoners? Unfortunately, further details about the couple’s kitchen setup are unavailable.
Nottingham Cottage is not in North Carolina
Or, at least, not the one Prince Harry lives in.
In the rush to find information about the quaint cottage, some misinformation spread about the royal couple's actual home.
A floor plan that circulated on Monday does not depict the measurements of the royal den/guest room. The 1,324-square-foot apartment shown in the layout is actually an apartment at Windsor Point, a North Carolina assisted living facility.
Similarly, some royal watchers interpreted the name of the cozy cottage as its location, placing the couple in the city of Nottingham. The couple will live in London, not in the city of Nottingham, as some believed after the news broke on Monday.
Is Nottingham Cottage the royal starter home?
Does all this news about Nottingham Cottage feel like deja vu to you? After Prince William and Kate Middleton made the Nott Cott their home from 2011 to 2013, it became Prince Harry’s bachelor pad. Though some speculate the cottage is just a temporary home for the couple, there is no official news on the their potential future home.