Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Start Renovations on Frogmore Cottage, and It Is Going to Get Pricey

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published 13 January 2019

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are finally beginning the much-needed work on their new home Frogmore Cottage. Reportedly, the new digs were fairly "dilapidated" before this but do provide the necessary room for the soon-to-be family of three, once the baby arrives. Now work has finally begun on the house (it's much bigger than a traditional cottage, so don't let the name fool you), and it is NOT going to be cheap. As first reported in The Times, the full cost of the work will range from $2.5 million to as much as $3.8 million—eep.

So what will the work be on? Firstly, security. Like, "Fort Knox" level security. There'll also be a green energy unit costing $60,000 (but way to go, being eco-friendly!), fireplaces, staircases, and a floating floor, which just means material that's not nailed to the subfloor underneath. They're keeping the original shutters and floorboards, so they're being faithful to a good amount of the original architecture. Per Us Weekly, Meghan and Harry are in regular contact with the team doing the work and have been vocal about what they want and need.

In November 2018, the news broke that the Fab Four (Meghan, Harry, Kate Middleton, and Prince William) were splitting up, a.k.a. Harry and Meghan wouldn't join their in-laws by living at Kensington Palace. Not that it matters, but this is much higher than Kate and William's renovations of their quarters at Kensington Palace—this makes sense, though, because it sounds like Frogmore didn't have anyone living in it for a long time before this, whereas presumably Kensington has work going on more regularly.

The Daily Mail reports that protective white covering has gone up over the whole house, so no one can see what's going on or how intense the rehab work is (go here to see photos)—plus, there might be some roof work, and camera installation, that needs to be completed. Once the work is done, the unveiling is going to be pretty spectacular.

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