Nottingham Cottage (nicknamed "Nott Cott") is a house in the grounds of

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. As a grace-and-favour property, the house has been frequently occupied by members of the British royal family, as well as staff and employees.

Design and location

Nottingham Cottage is a house on the grounds of Kensington Palace. The ceilings are noted for their lowness, with previous residents

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

having to stoop to avoid hitting their heads. Marion Crawford, who resided at the cottage from 1948 to 1950, described it as "a dream 'of seasoned red brick...with roses round the door'. "It is in size. It stands near two other grace-and-favour houses,

Ivy Cottage Ivy Cottage is a house in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It sta ...

and Wren Cottage. The house was designed by

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churche ...

. Its name derives from ''Nottingham House'', the residence of the

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to h ...

: in 1689, the second Earl sold the property to William III and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

, who developed the estate as ''Kensington House'', later Kensington Palace.

History

Nottingham Cottage has previously been home to

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...

, and his wife,

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the mother ...

. Upon her retirement in 1948, the house was given for life to Marion Crawford, the former governess of Princesses Elizabeth and

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

. In gratitude for Crawford's service, Queen Mary, the princesses' grandmother, decorated the house with Victorian furniture and prints of flowers for her. Crawford left the cottage in 1950 in the aftermath of her selling stories about the royal family to newspapers, which was revealed publicly by '' The Sunday Express'' editor John Gordon in an attempt to pressure her to provide more stories and articles to him. The home was subsequently lent to

Miles Hunt-Davis Brigadier Sir Miles Garth Hunt-Davis, (7 November 1938 – 23 May 2018) was a British Army officer who was also the Private Secretary to The Duke of Edinburgh from 1993 until 2010. Early life and education Miles Hunt-Davis was born in Johanne ...

, private secretary of the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produ ...

and his wife Anita. Robert Fellowes, private secretary to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and his wife Lady Jane Fellowes, the sister of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, Prince of Wales, ...

, also occupied the cottage.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

, and

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

used Nottingham Cottage as their London residence after their marriage from 2011 to 2013, splitting their time between the cottage and their home on the Bodorgan Estate in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The cottage was redecorated for the couple by interior designer Kelly Hoppen. The Duke and Duchess resided there with their son Prince George after his birth, before in October 2013 moving to Kensington Palace.

moved into Nottingham Cottage from

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the Duke of Clarence, the future king William IV. Over the years, it has undergone much exten ...

following his brother's departure, with the house referred to as his "

bachelor pad A bachelor pad is a home (''pad'') in which a bachelor or bachelors (single men) live. The exact standards on what constitutes a bachelor pad are often ambiguous and debated but one definition describes it as: "A 'bachelor pad' is a slang ter ...

" after leaving the army. It is also where Prince Harry proposed to

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

, they subsequently resided together at the cottage following their engagement. In April 2019, the couple moved to Frogmore Cottage before the birth of their first child. Following their

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, it was reported that Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, were to move into the cottage.

References

{{Royal palaces in the United Kingdom Christopher Wren buildings in London Houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kensington Palace Royal residences in the United Kingdom