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Did the royal rift between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Prince William and Kate Middleton begin because of a housing situation?
Well, that’s what Princess Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell, is claiming in his upcoming book, The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, out Jan. 13, 2026. Even though he believes that Meghan “saved” Harry after the death of his mother, he also thinks that the Duchess of Sussex’s lack of understanding of royal hierarchy was their downfall.
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In an excerpt of the book, obtained by the Daily Mail, Burrell explained how Harry and Meghan’s first home, Nottingham Cottage, became a problematic source of irritation for them. William and Kate had lived there in “the early days of their marriage,” and he described it as “small but cosy and enough for a couple embarking on a journey through life.”
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are seen at Daystar Evangelical Church on March 26, 2022 in Great Abaco, Bahamas.
Samir Hussein/Wireimage via Getty Images
Still, the “fairy-tale cottage wasn’t a royal residence,” and Burrell thinks a dinner hosted by Kate and William at their apartment in Kensington Palace started all of the fuss. Calling the Nottingham residence “a far cry from the two-bedroom cottage only 200 yards away,” the former palace staffer hinted that “the problem was that Meghan would always have second billing to the future Queen Catherine. Being American, she struggled to understand the culture of the Royal establishment with its rules and protocols.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a different view than Burrell, though. They discussed their time at Nottingham Cottage in their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
“As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace and we were… in a cottage,” Harry said.
Meghan added, “So small. Kensington Palace sounds very regal, of course, it does. It says ‘palace’ in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was so small. [Harry] would just hit his head constantly in that place because he’s so tall. It was just a chapter in our lives where I don’t think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes.”
They eventually renovated Frogmore Cottage at Windsor, which was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II for their wedding. King Charles III eventually evicted them from the home after the couple had repaid taxpayers from the construction fees — and then Charles reimbursed them. The royal real estate snafu was chaotic, but it certainly wasn’t the root of the couple’s issues.
After leaving the royal family five years ago, the couple has settled into their new life in California, but Harry is itching to reconcile with Charles, who is battling cancer. William is reportedly fighting the reconciliation, but royal insiders are hopeful that the monarch can make peace with his youngest son.
“There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” the Duke of Sussex told the BBC in May, “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Click here to see a complete timeline of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s feud with the royal family.
