Meghan Markle 'to have £50,000 green energy unit installed at Frogmore Cottage'
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are going green in their new family home, it has been reported.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are installing a £50,000 low-carbon energy unit at Frogmore Cottage, which will provide eco-friendly heat, hot water and electricity.
The Grade II-listed cottage, on the Queen's Windsor Castle estate, is said to be undergoing a multi-million pound refit which will be paid for by the taxpayer.
The current five flats will be turned into one family home for the couple and their new baby, due in the spring.
Other renovations, detailed in planning documents published by the local council, include a satellite dish outside, The Sun reports.
Harry and Meghan are leaving west London and moving into the 10-bedroom home to raise a family in a quieter setting amid alleged "tension" with Prince William.
The Queen gifted the couple Frogmore Cottage, which been a favourite royal hideaway for more than 300 years and is home to a royal burial ground.
Kensington Palace confirmed the move in November, saying Windsor is a "very special place" for the couple.
The newlyweds will move into their main official residence early this year once the refit is complete.
It is claimed that they had planned to move into one of Kensington Palace's main apartments, next to William and Kate, but there has been a "bit of tension" between the brothers.
It is likely that it will get a full security upgrade to keep prying eyes away. Previously, the public could walk right up to the property, which was surrounded by a small fence with a sign reading "Private".
The couple currently live in their first marital home, a cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace in west London, where Prince William and Kate Middleton also reside.
Frogmore Cottage has more than enough space for the Sussex family and a nursery for their baby - and even a gym or a yoga studio - with 10 bedrooms.
Formerly known as Double Garden Cottage, the home is set within Windsor Castle's Home Park and faces the stunning and sprawling grounds of Frogmore House, which will no doubt become a more popular stop on the Windsor tourist trail.
The cottage is currently divided into five units which were home to royal staff, but it will be transformed into a family home with modern amenities.
Frogmore Cottage is set in an area that has sentimental value and many memories for the Duke, 34, and Duchess, 37.
It's half a mile south of Windsor Castle, the Queen's summer residence, and St George's Chapel, where Harry and Meghan tied the knot in May as millions around the world watched on TV.
Their wedding reception, hosted by the Prince of Wales, was held at Frogmore House, which was also where the couple's engagement photos were taken.
They reportedly had a summer picnic there in 2017 before getting engaged.
Frogmore House is in a peaceful and secluded location, surrounded by 35 acres of lush vegetation and Berkshire countryside.
The estate has its own man-made lake, Frogmore Lake, and is home to the Royal Burial Ground and the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Those interred at the burial ground include King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson - the divorced American socialite whose intended marriage to Edward sparked a constitutional crisis and led to his abdication in 1936.
Meghan is the second American divorcee to marry into the Royal Family, but unlike Wallis she has been warmly received.
Frogmore House was once home to Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, for almost 20 years. Her remains are also held there, in an elegant mausoleum.
The House - built in the 1680s and purchased by Queen Charlotte, wife of George III in 1792 - is open to the public just one month a year, in August, plus three charity open days in June.
The sprawling grounds allowed Queen Charlotte to indulge her love of botany, as the gardens, initially flat, were filled with 4,00 trees and many rare and unusual plants.
Charlotte's Vice-Chamberlain, Major William Price, and the Rev. Christopher Alderson of Derbyshire transformed the estate, creating the winding lake, wooded mounds, glades, walks and bridges in the Picturesque style.
Tickets cost up to £35 a person through the Royal Collection Trust.
Inside, there are grand and elegant rooms - including one decorated by 18th-century flower painter Mary Moser. Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of George III and Charlotte, painted garlands in The Cross Gallery.
More at Mirrot.co.uk
10 January 2019
