Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Wanted to Live in Windsor Castle with the Queen Instead of Frogmore Cottage

Before they moved into Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked the Queen if they could live in Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Philip live.

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  • Before they renovated and moved into Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly had their sights set on living in Windsor Castle with the Queen and Prince Philip.
  • According to a new report from the Times on Sunday, the couple asked the Queen if they could live in Windsor Castle, but she shut down the idea. 
  • A royal source says that the move was probably nixed because the castle isn't an ideal place to raise a young family.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to start a family, they relocated from their Kensington Palace apartment to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, where they can raise little Archie Harrison in private—or, as private as you can get when you're a high-ranking royal, at least.

Apparently, however, Frogmore Cottage wasn't the couple's first choice when it came to moving into a new royal residence. A new report from the Times on Sunday suggests that Meghan and Harry actually asked the Queen if they could move into Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Philip spend much of the year.

Sadly, the idea didn't work out, probably because the Queen decided that the castle wasn't the best place to raise a young, growing family.

"There are empty bedrooms and suites in the private apartments which the Sussexes may have had their eye on, or perhaps some former living quarters in the castle grounds converted into other things," Hugo Vickers, a royal author and a deputy lord lieutenant of Berkshire, told The Times. "But I can see how it might not be entirely appropriate to have a young family living there."

Of course, Harry and Meghan have made the five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage their dream home now, so it all worked out.

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Weekend Editor at Cosmopolitan

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.