Queen Elizabeth Thought It Would Be 'Inappropriate' for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Live at Windsor Estate

Meghan Markle struggled to adjust to royal life, and rumors spread that the Duchess of Sussex hoped she would live at Windsor Castle alongside Queen Elizabeth.

Despite the Sussexes being gifted Frogmore Cottage, experts claimed Her Majesty hoped the pair would appreciate the lavish home after not being allowed to occupy Windsor.

"The cottage was a big deal. The Queen's entrance into the gardens is right next to their cottage," royal biographer Katie Nicholl wrote in The New Royals.

"It is essentially her backyard, her solitude, and her privacy," Nicholl penned. "She was giving that up in gifting Harry and Meghan Frogmore Cottage. We all thought it was very big of her. She said, 'I hope they'll respect it.'"

Though the Queen gifted the mansion to the couple, King Charles evicted the duo from the estate when he ascended to the throne. OK! previously reported royal expert Tom Quinn alluded to the Sussexes being blindsided by the decision.

"Harry and Meghan imagined Frogmore would always be there for them even if they came back to the U.K. for just a few weeks each year and even if they were no longer working royals," Quinn told an outlet.

"That assumption speaks volumes about just how out of touch with each other King Charles and his son had become," he added.

When the Sussexes left the royal fold, the duo was stripped of various privileges — including their HRH status, security personnel, and later, their U.K. home.

"At the time, few people realized what a slap in the face the eviction from Frogmore felt like for Harry – it was the last straw," the writer explained. "Harry was absolutely furious and in tears about being evicted from Frogmore – he felt his father had no right to do it and that it was purely vindictive."

"Harry couldn't see that choosing to stop being a working royal would inevitably mean being deprived of his royal residence," he shared. "Harry took it as a cruel rejection – a painful reminder of all that he felt when his father fought with his mother during their long drawn-out, painful divorce."

Aside from their royal residence, the Duchess of Sussex was admittedly surprised by the expectation to formally greet Elizabeth.

"The Queen never really was concerned about whether or not people bowed or curtsied to her or not," Michael Cole told an outlet. “Cherie Blaire, former Prime Minister’s wife, apparently didn’t curtsy and, OK, so who cares, the late Queen had too good manners to care.”

“The Queen was too well-mannered to notice, even if people wanted to be discourteous," Cole added. "She would have not even noticed it."

Elizabeth's longtime friend Lady Glenconner revealed that the former actress was unprepared for the reality of royal life.

“I think the thing about Meghan was, she had no idea what was expected of her really,” Glenconner said on the “Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth” podcast in 2023.

“I think she just thought it was sort of like being another actress, you know," she added.

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According to Glenconner, living within the royal fold is “extremely boring" because you're “meeting hundreds of thousands of people that you’re never going to meet again."

“I think it was very sad, and I feel very sad for Harry,” she noted.