If you're a royal watcher (or, you know, just a person with a decent internet connection), by now you've probably heard that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are officially moved out of Kensington Palace. People are, for whatever reason, shocked that a married adult couple didn't want to live under the same roof as basically his entire extended family. Seriously, do you know how many royals live in that place?! According to Business Insider, the number is 13, not counting Meghan and Harry. While we're sure they're all lovely people, if Thanksgiving weekend collectively teaches us anything, it's that there's only so much face-to-face fam time most people can be reasonably expected to handle.
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In preparation for their first child, the couple relocated to a longtime royal residence called Frogmore Cottage (they kept their Cotswold estate, a gift from the queen herself, as a vacation house). The big move took place in early 2019, following extensive renovations to the 17th century property. Frogmore is notable for a few reasons: One, it's in Berkshire, which is about 30 miles west of London. This means Meghan and Harry no longer maintain an official address in the city. Two, its name is derived from the many frogs that apparently roam the grounds. So, hope Harry and Meghan are cool with casual pop-ins from random amphibians!
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Frogmore Cottage is that, for the time being at least, you can visit it. Kind of. Frogmore Cottage — which, by the way, is not so much a cottage but a sprawling manse believed to contain up to 10 bedrooms — sits on the grounds of the Frogmore Estate, which is part of the Home Park in Windsor. This comprises about 35 acres of gardens, plus the Frogmore House and Frogmore Cottage. Frogmore House, which is reportedly where Harry and Meghan held the reception for their wedding, allows small groups of visitors every year during the month of August. It is also, according to the Royal Collection Trust, accessible during three annual Charity Open Days, the next of which will fall in June 2019.
Last year, tickets for the Charity Open Days cost £7.00 (about $9) for adults, and could be purchased on-site or in advance. Organizations that benefitted from the days were the National Garden Scheme, SSAFA, and the Prisoners' Education Trust. During the August open days, tickets will cost £11 ($14) per adult, or £35 ($44) for a private, guided evening tour for a group of 15.
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So, again, while you won't be able to visit the actual home of Meghan and Harry (which, to be honest, might be kind of weird — let's give these folks some privacy for once!), if you make it your mission to get to Berkshire in June or August, you can likely visit the place where they got married, which is sort of near the place where they live.
Considering how little is known about Frogmore Cottage — as of now, it seems like no one has an exact count of how many rooms are in it, there are very few pictures of it, and, for obvious reasons, it doesn't show up on Google Maps — it's the closest you'll get to a royal home tour experience. Just watch out for all the frogs.
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