Frogmore Cottage has been at the centre of royal drama for years. The Grade II listed home in Windsor, gifted to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by the late Queen Elizabeth II, has remained empty since 2023. Anna Wintour and Bill Nighy sparked romance rumors when they walked the Met Gala red carpet arm in arm in 2023. Here is everything you need to know about Frogmore Cottage in 2026.
What Is Frogmore Cottage and Where Is It Located?
Frogmore Cottage sits in the grounds of the Frogmore estate in Windsor, Berkshire. It is located about half a mile south of Windsor Castle within Home Park, the private estate of the castle. The cottage is close to the river Thames and built upon historically wet marsh ground, which led to the estate’s name. The low-lying plot attracts a high number of frogs from the nearby riverbank.
Queen Victoria once breakfasted at the cottage on June 28, 1875, and noted an “immense number of little frogs” which she found “quite disgusting.” The cottage is part of the Crown Estate, the British monarch’s public estate. It is not open to the public, though Frogmore House and the wider estate can be visited on a number of charity days held each year.
When Was Frogmore Cottage Built? A History of the Building
The cottage has served as a royal refuge since it was built in 1801. It was commissioned by Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, who bought the Frogmore estate as a country retreat for herself and her unmarried daughters in 1792. The original cost of construction was £450, which would be approximately £50,000 today.
The cottage was originally known as Double Garden Cottage. It was designed as a retreat from the stresses of court life. Queen Charlotte needed somewhere for her daughters to escape the king’s declining mental health. Historian Helen Rappaport has suggested that Frogmore Cottage provided respite for the king’s family. “The king had episodes of frenzy. He was most likely very hard to live with and Queen Charlotte presumably utilised Frogmore Cottage as a retreat.”
Famous Residents: Queen Victoria’s Munshi Abdul Karim
One of the most famous residents of Frogmore Cottage was Abdul Karim, an Indian Muslim clerk who became a close confidant and teacher to Queen Victoria. Karim arrived in England in 1887 to serve at the queen’s table during her golden jubilee celebrations. The 24-year-old made such a big impact on the aging monarch that within the year he had become an established figure at court.
The queen made him her teacher, instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. She lavished honours, titles and gifts on him, one of which was the use of Frogmore Cottage. She visited him at the cottage “every second day” and “never missed a lesson” from Karim. Queen Victoria developed an almost maternal relationship with Karim and would sign letters to him as “your loving mother” and “your closest friend.”
Karim refurbished the cottage and lived there with his wife and father from 1893. However, his close relationship with the queen angered her family and courtiers. Her death in 1901 brought his life at Frogmore to an abrupt end. Within hours of her funeral, the new king, Edward VII, who “hated” Karim, had his residences raided and his papers destroyed. He ordered Karim to return to India, where he died a few years later at age 46.
Russian Royal Refugees at Frogmore Cottage
After Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918, surviving relatives fled to the UK. Among them was the tsar’s sister, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, who was also King George V’s cousin. On arrival in the UK, the grand duchess and her children lived independently for a while but soon ran out of money.
In 1925, the king put them up in Frogmore Cottage, along with several of her sons and their families. The royal refugees’ poverty meant the cottage soon fell into disrepair. Residents of grace-and-favour homes were required to pay for all internal changes, but the grand duchess’s “dire” financial situation meant she could not afford to maintain the house.
A Ministry of Works official in 1929 found the cottage was in a “deplorable condition.” Wallpaper was tearing off the walls, ceilings were dirty, and plaster was breaking off. The refurbishment was eventually paid for by the king, who also provided his cousin with a £2,400 annual pension. After the king’s death in 1936, his son, King Edward VIII, offered Xenia and her family Wilderness House in Hampton Court, and they left Frogmore.
Harry and Meghan: The £2.4 Million Renovation
Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved in, Frogmore Cottage was a series of five separate residential units used to house Windsor estate workers. In 2019, it was provided to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a grace-and-favour home by the late Queen Elizabeth II following their wedding. The cottage was converted into a four-bedroom-and-nursery single-family home at a reported cost of £2.4 million from the Sovereign Grant.
The renovation took almost a year to complete. It included installing a private yoga studio, replacing ceiling beams, swapping out floor joists, rewiring the electrics, and installing new gas and water mains. The couple paid for their own custom fixtures and fittings. These features included a £5,000 copper bathtub and interior decoration by Soho House designer Vicky Charles, which featured specialised vegan paint.
As a property of a royal palace of state and a designated heritage site, Frogmore Cottage was scheduled to be renovated in any event, regardless of occupant. However, the cost sparked a media storm about the indulgent use of tax money.
Why Did Harry and Meghan Leave Frogmore Cottage?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex only lived at Frogmore Cottage for around 10 months. They moved into the property shortly before the birth of their son Archie in May 2019, but left for Canada later that year. In January 2020, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple were stepping down as senior working members of the royal family and would relocate to North America.
In September 2020, the couple repaid £2.4 million to cover the refurbishment costs and rental of the cottage. This amount was offset against rental payments due. The existing licence to occupy the property was extended to March 2022. However, in 2023, the couple removed all their remaining possessions after they were reportedly evicted from the property following the release of Harry’s bombshell memoir, Spare, earlier that year.
The Sussex Team’s Allegation About King Charles
Royal journalist Tom Sykes reported in June 2026 that sources close to the couple claimed that King Charles waited until after the Queen died to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage. The Sussexes’ team alleges that the late Queen would have blocked the eviction because it was her wedding gift to them.
Sykes said on his Royalist podcast: “[The Sussexes’ team] are telling me now is that King Charles waited until after the Queen had died to kick Harry out. And they say that the Queen would have blocked it because it was her wedding gift to them.”
He argued that the Sussexes are “absolutely right” about this because the last thing the late Queen would have wanted was confrontation. “That was arguably one of her greatest weaknesses. Her inability to stand up to family members who played the family card to get what they wanted is well known.”
What Happened to Frogmore Cottage After Harry and Meghan Left?
After Harry and Meghan moved to California, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank took up residence at Frogmore Cottage in November 2020. However, this arrangement ended when Harry and Meghan expressed a desire to renew their occupier licence in February 2022 in a bid to remain legally domiciled in the UK. Eugenie vacated the property in May 2022.
Since then, Frogmore Cottage has stood empty. In March 2023, it was reported that Prince Andrew had been offered the cottage in exchange for surrendering his lease on the nearby thirty-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. The Duke of York, who holds a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge signed in 2003, reportedly retorted that the cottage was “not grand enough for him.”
However, reports in early 2026 claimed that Andrew was forced to relocate to Sandringham amid mounting public furore due to his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Palace has not confirmed whether the cottage will ever be occupied by the disgraced duke.
Could Frogmore Cottage Be Split Back into Separate Homes?
In May 2026, The Sun reported that the Crown Estate is considering reversing the Sussexes’ renovation and returning the Grade II listed building to its original layout by dividing it back into several separate homes. The move is an effort to ensure the property remains occupied, as it has sat empty for three years.
A royal source said: “It’s been empty for three years. Even Andrew thought it wasn’t good enough for him to move in. Maybe if they get rid of any trace of Harry and Meghan, then someone within the royal household will fancy it. It would draw the line under Frogmore Cottage’s controversial history and return it to the pre-Meghan and Harry era.”
It is understood that no decisions have been made and no building work has started. The exploration is looking at options to ensure future occupancy, one of which could be splitting the cottage back into separate homes.
Could Prince Harry and Meghan Ever Return to Frogmore Cottage?
Reports have suggested that as peace talks continue between Prince Harry and King Charles, it is possible that if Harry and Meghan were to move back, Frogmore “is a property they could still use.” However, Prince Harry reportedly wants to return to the UK with Meghan and their children Lilibet and Archie only if his official security is reinstated following a Home Office review.
The couple currently live in California and no longer hold a UK address. Frogmore Cottage remains empty as of June 2026, with its future still uncertain. The Crown Estate has not announced any final decisions about the property’s fate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who lives in Frogmore Cottage now? Frogmore Cottage is currently empty. No one lives there as of June 2026. Prince Andrew was offered the property but reportedly refused it, calling it “not grand enough.”
Did Harry and Meghan pay back the £2.4 million renovation cost? Yes. In September 2020, Harry and Meghan repaid £2.4 million to cover the refurbishment costs and rental of the cottage. The amount was offset against rental payments due.
Who owned Frogmore Cottage before Harry and Meghan? Before the Sussexes, Frogmore Cottage was a series of five separate units housing Windsor estate workers. In the 19th century, it was home to Queen Victoria’s munshi Abdul Karim and later to Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, a Russian royal refugee.
Can the public visit Frogmore Cottage? The cottage itself is not open to the public. However, Frogmore House and the estate grounds can be visited on a number of charity days held each year.
Why did Harry and Meghan leave Frogmore Cottage? The couple stepped down as senior working royals in January 2020 and relocated to North America. They were reportedly evicted in 2023 after the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare.
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