On that June morning in 1875, Queen Victoria hoped to have her breakfast in peace.
Wasted effort.
“The immense number of little frogs” that leap in his gardens makes him lose his appetite.
The Double Garden Cottage, where the sovereign is staying, was indeed built on marshes, not far from the Thames.
A land conducive to the proliferation of these lively batrachians.
The royal residence will later be renamed Frogmore Cottage, in homage to the "
frogs
", his army of amphibians.
Nearly 150 years after the passage of Queen Victoria, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make the residence their main residence, from 2019 to January 2020, then their secondary residence in the United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex, who now lives in California, has just renewed the lease, revealed the
Telegraph
on February 19.
This ended on March 31, 2022. An approach which allows the son of Prince Charles to remain a State Councilor to Elizabeth II, because he still has an address in England.
In video, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry: chronicle of an announced disgrace
Gardens at 450 pounds
If Frogmore Cottage is only occupied on rare occasions today, many crowned heads, employees and even refugees once chose it as their main residence.
Built in 1680 during the reign of Charles II, the residence was first intended for the sovereign's nephew.
In 1801, Queen Charlotte called on a landscaper to reinvest the surrounding gardens.
It will cost him the modest sum of 450 pounds (530 euros).
Once the work is finished, the wife of King George III and their unmarried daughters take up residence in this ideally located house, a stone's throw from Windsor Castle.
But after the death of the queen consort in 1818, no one will stay between these four walls.
It will be necessary to wait until 1840 for a theologian named Henry James Sr. to invest the premises with his family.
The Incredible Fate of Abdul Karim
The Duchess of Kent, mother of Queen Victoria, also lived there, before Abdul Karim, the sovereign's personal secretary and teacher, left her luggage there 57 years later, in 1897, in the company of his wife and his father.
A singular destiny for the time, as this Indian employee became a close friend of Victoria during the last fifteen years of her reign.
But the affection of the queen will earn her the wrath of the court.
In particular Edward VII, the monarch's son.
After the death of His Majesty in 1901, the heir hunted Abdul Karim, who ended his life near Agra, India.
The exile of the Grand Duchess
Frogmore Cottage remained unoccupied until 1920. The residence subsequently welcomed a high-ranking refugee: Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, cousin of King George V who came from Russia.
The monarch offered her hospitality, because the latter was forced to flee her country, in the midst of a revolution.
Frogmore Cottage has however lost its former glory.
The royal family no longer has the means to maintain the residence.
The Grand Duchess is therefore forced to move into Wilderness House, a house offered to her by the King.
In 1923, however, Frogmore Cottage regained the stripe.
George VI and his wife, who would become the Queen Mother, chose to spend their honeymoon there.
A few decades later, it is not uncommon to see their daughter Elizabeth II there,
Works at 2.4 million pounds
At the beginning of the 2000s, the property, divided into five separate units, served as housing for the employees of the Windsor house.
The latter ignore the rumors circulating on the spot.
It is rumored that the nearby Windsor Castle is haunted, and Frogmore Cottage visited by spirits.
In front of the residence, there is indeed a royal mausoleum in which are buried Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Victoria's mother, Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.
The local chapel also houses the remains of ten kings, as well as that of Princess Margaret.
The building would become the scene of far more cheerful events, such as the wedding receptions of Peter and Autumn Phillips in 2008 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ten years later.
In 2019, it becomes the home of the Sussexes - for better or for worse.
The cost of the renovations to the property, undertaken by the couple and financed by the Sovereign Grant (
the organization which regulates the official expenses of the royal family, editor's note
), is 2.4 million pounds (2.8 million euros). euros).
Only downside, the duo announces, a few months later, that they wish to leave their royal functions … and English territory.
A decision that goes badly with the British, as the cost of the work undertaken by the Sussexes, at the expense of taxpayers, is high.
The media are also wondering how Archie's parents, now financially independent, will be able to repay this amount.
The answer takes the form of a juicy contract, signed by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Netflix.
The return of Prince Harry
Experts estimate that the duo is about to pocket 150 million dollars (132 million euros).
"Confirmed: Prince Harry has officially reimbursed the 2.4 million works spent to make the Frogmore cottage a family home, finally reveals journalist Omid Scobie, author of the biography
Harry and Meghan, free
, on his Twitter account, in September 2020. A source close to the Duke told me that he had recently (and voluntarily) repaid the sum in full to the Sovereign Grant.”
Information confirmed by the spokesperson for Sussex and Buckingham Palace.
A lawsuit against the "Daily Mail"
Since then, the corridors of Frogmore Cottage have remained silent.
With the exception of November and December 2020, during which Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank took up residence there for six weeks.
Prince Harry did not set foot there again until April 2021, to attend Prince Philip's funeral, and in July 2021, for the inauguration of the statue of Lady Diana.
And won't be going back there anytime soon.
The
Daily Mail
has indeed revealed that the Duke of Sussex, worried for his safety, would have made a request to obtain police protection when he stays in the United Kingdom.
An article for which Prince Harry has since sued the tabloid publisher for libel.
No doubt the Sussexes will not return to Frogmore Cottage anytime soon, haunted by bitter memories - if not, perhaps, real ghosts.
