Queen Elizabeth’s Wedding Gift

Words by Elise Taylor, Vogue

Leave it to Queen Elizabeth to give Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, the best wedding present a couple could ask for: a house.

New reports claim that the monarch offered Adelaide Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, as a weekend getaway for Harry and Meghan. Earlier rumours this summer suggested that the home was, in fact, York Cottage in Norfolk, but it seems that the 19th-century Adelaide is now what’s on the table.

It’s quite common for the queen to gift homes to royal newlyweds. After Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 wedding, she bequeathed them Anmer Hall, a house on her Sandringham Estate. It was the couple’s primary residence until they moved to London full-time in 2017, and is said to be the place that they most consider home.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s potential property, Adelaide Cottage, was first built in 1831 for William IV’s wife, Queen Adelaide. It’s considered an example of cottage orné (or a “decorated cottage”), which was a popular architectural style during the Romantic movement. The outside is a simple, pinkish-white stucco structure, but is adorned with ornamental roof trimmings.

According to Historic England, the master bedroom has gilded dolphins and “rope ornament,” repurposed from the former royal yacht, Royal George. It also has a marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace.

Adelaide Cottage is perhaps most famous for being the residence of Peter Townsend, former equerry to King George VI and the great love of Princess Margaret (see: season one of The Crown). Although it’s changed since his days; in 2016, the property underwent a modernizing renovation.

It sounds like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quite the royal retreat lined up, even if no one can yet agree on what property it will be.

Photos: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit the South Bank Centre  Nelson Mandela The Centenary Exhibition 2018.

The @SouthBankCentre #Mandela100 exhibition celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela, 100 years after he was born — today The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the exhibition, where they met Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela.

A post shared by Kensington Palace(@kensingtonroyal) on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:43am PDT

At the #Mandela100 @SouthBankCentre exhibition, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met 92-year-old Andrew Mlangeni, who was accused of sabotage against the then apartheid government in South Africa in 1963 as part of the Rivonia Trial, and subsequently spent 26 years in prison on Robben Island.

A post shared by Kensington Palace(@kensingtonroyal) on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:44am PDT

Featured Image: Kensington Palace