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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Kyle O'Sullivan

Inside 'small' home Meghan and Harry are moaning about - staggering value and Oprah shock

Most of us would dream of living in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage in a gated community in central London - and with similar properties on the market for £1.3m, it's fair to say it's a dream that's unlikely to ever become a reality.

But for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Nottingham Cottage in Kenginston Palace wasn't quite the lavish royal home they had in mind. In the fourth episode of their controversial Netflix series Harry & Meghan, which dropped on Thursday morning, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moan about their living conditions.

They claim the public assumed they were living in a massive mansion, but whine that they were only in a "small" home in the grounds of Kensington Palace. Their quotes land amid the cost of living crisis, which has left many unable to pay their bills, and on the same day nurses have gone on strike for the first time in 106 years.

Here is a look inside Harry and Meghan's first home, which didn't live up to their high standards.

Harry having a bit of grub outside the cottage (Netflix)
Harry cosying up with his adorable pet pooch (Netflix)

When the couple were dating, Meghan moved into Harry's 'bachelor pad' - which had previously been the Prince and Princess of Wales's home shortly after Prince George as born.

The two-bedroom property, which is 1,324 square feet (123.0 m 2 ) in size, has a living room, dining room, two bathrooms and a garden.

Rightmove tells The Mirror that the average asking price for a two-bed in Kensington is a whopping £1,361,436 - with demand for that sized property up 7% on last year.

"As far as people were concerned we were living in a palace," says Harry in the Netflix docuseries. "[But] we were living in a cottage on palace grounds."

While Meghan explains: "Kensington Palace sounds very regal, of course it does, it says palace in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was so small."

Nottingham Cottage sits in the grounds of Kensington Palace (Getty Images)

While it is the smallest abode on the 17th century estate, which is where Harry grew up, it boasts reception rooms designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the architect behind St Paul's Cathedral

"The whole thing was really small on a slight lean with low ceilings," claims Harry in episode four.

Nicknamed 'Nott Cott', the humble abode used to be where Prince William and Princess Kate lived when Prince George was just a baby.

The former Suits actress reveals her husband hit his head constantly "because he's so tall".

Despite obviously knowing that his brother lived there before, Harry jokingly says: "Whoever lived their before must have been small."

Harry made the cottage his bachelor pad in 2013 after Kate and William moved into the 20-room Apartment 1A inside the palace.

Prince Harry at home in his military uniform (Netflix)
Meghan looks stunning in the cottage's bedroom (Netflix)

The cottage was a special place for Meghan and Harry, and it's where the prince got down on one knee to propose as the couple enjoyed a quiet night in cooking a roast chicken.The couple share previously unseen snaps of them enjoying their former home - with a shot of Harry posing in his military uniform and Meghan standing in the bathroom doorway. It also has a small garden where Harry slung up a hammock when he first moved into the property.

"Me with the hoe and H [Harry] varnishing," says Meghan, as photos pop up of the pair doing some DIY and gardening.

Megan holding a garden hoe (Netflix)
Harry doing some varnishing (Netflix)

She adds: "It was a chapter in our lives where I don't think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind-the-scenes."

There are also snaps of Harry eating some food outside the back and Harry cosying up with their pet pooch, Guy the beagle, in the cosy living room.

There are plenty of cushions, photos hanging up on the walls ands Union Jack placemats on the coffee table.

The kitchen has a black and white diamond pattern, white kitchen units and a magnet on the dishwasher that reads 'Nott Cott'.

Another adorable snap shows Pula the black Labrador, who they adopted in 2018, lying on the kitchen floor next to his dog bowls.

Meghan dancing in the doorway of the cottage (Netflix)
Harry was filming his wife (Netflix)

In another sweet clip from episode four, Meghan can be seen dancing in the doorway.

Filming his wife, Harry says: "Oh my god. It's my favourite video. Thursday afternoon, someone's happy."

Harry then reveals that chat show legend Oprah, who interviewed the couple in March last year, was stunned when she came over for tea.

Well Oprah came over for tea didn't she," says Harry, who then reveals what she said in a hilarious impersonation. "No one would ever believe it."

That part of the episode ends with Pula standing in the pouring rain outside the cottage while trying to catch the raindrops.

Nottingham Cottage has been the home to a number of famous faces over the years aside from Harry, Meghan, William and Kate.

Kate and William lived there when George was a baby (Getty)

King William III and Queen Mary II bought the Nottingham House from secretary of state Daniel Finch, the Earl of Nottingham, for just £20,000 in 1689.

The cottage was also home to Princess Diana's sister, Lady Jane Fellowes and her husband Sir Robert Fellowes, the Queen's former secretary.

The Duke of Edinburgh's private secretary Brigadier Sir Miles Hunt-Davis and his wife Gay also lived in the home.

So who has drawn the short straw and has to live there now?

Since Meghan and Harry left the country, Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have been living there with son August.

An aerial view of Kensington Palace (PA)

Many viewers from Meghan and Harry's Netflix docuseries have slammed the couple for complaining about the cottage.

One outraged viewer wrote: "Those two ungrateful greedy idiot clowns meghan & harry complain about Nottingham Cottage? The very same building that once upon a time been Prince William and Princess Catherine home?? Who do they think they are????"

"Meghan and Harry are so entitled-2 multimillionaires are complaining about being gifted a cottage because it had 'low ceilings'...the same cottage William and Kate lived in for longer with baby George and they didn't have any complaints! How can anyone take this s*** seriously," added another.

A third asked: "Perhaps this increasingly irritating couple might like to pay the back rent on this grace & favour 'cottage' funded by us, the taxpayer?"

"During a cost of living crisis where Britons are struggling to heat their homes, many are relying on food banks, and workers are striking across the board for pay to keep up with inflation, Harry and Meghan are whingeing about their cottage in Kensington Palace being "so small"," a fourth wrote.

(Netflix)

It wasn't just the cottage that viewers got to see behind-the-scenes snaps of - as there were also unseen pics from their wedding.

The couple shared some incredible photos from their big day, which happened in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018, including photos of the late Queen.

Speaking about the build up to the ceremony, Meghan says she went into a "really clam space".

"I don't know how I was so calm," she adds. "All I wanted was a mimosa, a croissant and play the song 'Going to the Chapel'."

There are a lot of sweet behind-the-scenes snaps from the big day which have never been released before, including from the reception at St George's Hall.

The newlyweds kissing on a balcony (Netflix)

One wide shot from above shows the scale of the event as hundreds of guests are packed in - and Elton John playing on the piano.

The Sussexes also laugh about having to use a sword to cut their wedding cake, with Meghan saying: "It was great. It was all so over the top.

There are black and white photos of Doria enjoying the entertainment, Princess Kate talking to guests and Harry doing a toast, as well as pics of their first dance.

The Sussexes signed lucrative deals thought to be worth more than £100 million with Netflix and Spotify after quitting the monarchy amid the Megxit crisis as they struggled with royal life.

The "unprecedented and in-depth" docuseries, directed by Oscar-nominated Liz Garbus, was full of explosive revelations.

Last week's premiere came exactly three months after the death of Harry's grandmother the late Queen, with the Windsors still grieving and the King less than 100 days into his reign.

Harry warned "we know the full truth" and spoke of a "hierarchy in the family", a "dirty game" and "leaking and planting of stories".

What are your thoughts on Harry & Meghan? Have your say in the comment section below.

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