CULTURE

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Hosted Queen Elizabeth at Frogmore Cottage Ahead of the Royal Birth

She and Prince Harry have been busy entertaining.

by Marissa G. Muller

The Duchess Of Sussex Undertakes Her First Official Engagement With  Queen Elizabeth II
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Frogmore Cottage is already iconic, and it’s barely broken in. After an extensive renovation at an estimated $3 million cost, the Duchess and Duke of Sussex are ready to entertain. In fact, they’ve already hosted their first visitor: none other than Prince Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen reportedly stopped by to give her blessing to the couple in their new home, which she generously gifted to them. “Her Majesty wanted to formally welcome the Sussexes to their new home, so she was their first visitor,” a royal source told The Sun. “After all, they’ve practically moved into her back garden. She visited with other family members and Harry and Meghan were delighted to show them round. The Queen was at Windsor Castle at Easter and wanted to see Meghan before she has the baby.”

Apparently, Markle and Harry have also entertained the Duke of Sussex’s brother Prince William and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton. When Markle missed the family’s Easter service on the Queen’s 93rd birthday because she was just days away from her due date, her in-laws made a special trip to spend time with her and Prince Harry at their Frogmore home. “William and Catherine visited because Meghan was unable to attend the service,” as a source previously told Harper’s Bazaar. “They wanted to be supportive and see how she is doing. It was a lovely afternoon.”

It makes sense that Queen Elizabeth would be the first guest in Markle and Harry’s new home. After all, not only did she give it to them, the home also happens to be in the backyard of Windsor Castle, where she spent Easter and where the couple got married last May. Plus, it’s rumored that the Queen provided much of the artwork in their new home—or at least the Royal Art Collection, which includes pieces by Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Andy Warhol and others, did, as a royal source recently told Vanity Fair. “They have been presented with a list of paintings that would be available to them and they are making up their minds as to what they would like to hang in their new home,” the source said.

The latest royal whispers also suggest that Markle has already past her due date and they’re “confident” she will give birth at Frogmore Cottage. So it might not be long until the Queen makes yet another visit to the charming countryside home.