Sussex Residences


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My understanding is that there used to be are several rooms in the bowels of BP and Windsor that were full of wonderful old furniture. When Charles was setting up home at Highgrove and KP, he had tried to take some of the furniture and had been told off by the Queen to go and buy his own. If this story is true, and I just recollect having read it in the Press / here at TRF a while ago, then she is unlikely to be offering anything substantial to Harry. Even W&C are meant to have bought a lot of their furniture for their home at KP.


Even if it is so, the queen is old and they have to rehouse the furniture from BP because of the renovations anyway. But that doesn't sound like the queen at all. But maybe she and Charles simply disagreed about the way renovations should work - I can see this with their characts, that they might clash here - and then the queen said no in general. Just saying, IMHO, of course.
 
There is a lot of furniture that is historic for one reason or the other. I've read several times that there is a certain chair that *nobody* is even allowed to sit down on (just forget which residence its at. Balmoral?) as its Queen Victoria's chair.

I would also wager that those pieces that are to be saved for posterity would also be a part of the Royal Collection which is centered at Windsor Castle (in the Tower, I believe). Let's face it. The British royal family holds onto things. The Queen is also a frugal person and even with Charles being renowned for being on the extravagant side, is pretty astute in his purchases.

No one really knows what furnishings Harry and Meghan will have and where they come from or if they're bought new but I imagine, should the need be, Charles will be right there to help with that as he did for William and Kate.

One thing I do think H&M will be looking at for a lot of the rooms is durability and able to withstand the onslaught of little children. Like the Cambridges, I believe this family's hub is also going to be the kitchen. :D
 
Even if it is so, the queen is old and they have to rehouse the furniture from BP because of the renovations anyway. But that doesn't sound like the queen at all. But maybe she and Charles simply disagreed about the way renovations should work - I can see this with their characts, that they might clash here - and then the queen said no in general. Just saying, IMHO, of course.

The "historic" pieces are unlikely to be offered to Harry as he is not a "main line" royal. Other less significant pieces may be shared, but I suspect the more valuable and historic pieces will be moved elsewhere for the period that BP is being renovated.
 
My understanding is that there used to be are several rooms in the bowels of BP and Windsor that were full of wonderful old furniture. When Charles was setting up home at Highgrove and KP, he had tried to take some of the furniture and had been told off by the Queen to go and buy his own. If this story is true, and I just recollect having read it in the Press / here at TRF a while ago, then she is unlikely to be offering anything substantial to Harry. Even W&C are meant to have bought a lot of their furniture for their home at KP.

Sally Bedell Smith asserts that when Charles and Diana divorced, he had Robert Kime redo Highgrove and his rooms at St. James's Palace. Robert Kime was allowed to tour the Royal Collection storage rooms and select furnishings.
 
Yes you are right Osipi, it was Tony Blair the former Prime Minister who said there is a chair at Balmoral no one is allowed to sit on as it was Queen Victoria's.
Some families have there little quirks.
 
Apple Maps lists the address for the house (shown in the Daily Mail article posted by Sun Lion) as “Round Hill Cottage
Banbury Road
Swerford, Chipping Norton
OX7 4BJ
England”
 
Just how accurate do we think any of this story is by the Sun. Have they got the right place?
Or are they just making it up as usual?
 
Well...she got the Frogmore Cottage story right. And if indeed they are just renting this place and may not buy it in the future...it would sure get a lot of attention and increased interest from buyers.
 
Well said. There goes what little privacy H&M had. Was it really necessary to make the actual postal address public. I believe the local postal service will see an uptick in mail and their security will need upping.

Thank heaven they are moving to Frogmore Cottage on the Frogmore Estate within Windsor Park in the not too distant future as the Ugly Nutters, Fan Nutters or the just plain Nosey are going to cause an increase in security problems where they are.
 
Looks like a fumigation cover. No doubt about it these old buildings require a lot of upkeep and upgrades. They will find wet rot and dry rot and mould and possibly need a new roof. New wiring throughout. But it will be worth it in the end.
The article only mentions Meghan. I am sure Harry would be very much in the frame on this reno as well.

This will take some time and will be worth it in the end. When H&M no longer reside there its possible it will be used by staff once again.
 
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This will take some time and will be worth it in the end. When H&M no longer reside there its possible it will be used by staff once again.

If at some time in the future FC is no longer used by H&M, my sense is that it will end up being either by another member of the BRF or a senior courtier.
 
Yep senior courtier would be my guess too.
 
I think Harry and Meghan will live at Frogmore for a long time. By all reports this will be a £ multimillion renovation, so the notion they’ll be there for a few years and then move on to a new place isn’t realistic.

Choice of residence is thought out in the long term and Harry not being the heir doesn’t have the luxury to just change residences on the taxpayers bill.
 
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I agree. This will be their permanent and only home.
Could work if Kate and Meghan like each other in reality. So they could always stay with the in-laws (and not to be forgotten - Harry's old room at CH is still there, I think. Good enough for a night after a job well done in the city).
As for all the blabla about such higher security costs when they live in Frogmore: Frogmore House and the graveyard are not vandalized regularily, so I guess the secirity is already quite up-to-date in Windsor homepark.
 
I would wait until the numbers are published officially before talking about it. The press also reported the security cost for the wedding would be more than 10 times what it turned out to be. Not saying it’d be at the same magnitude, but I’d heisitate to believe it right now.
 
The most important aspects that need to be noted are that Frogmore Cottage is a Grade II listed building and, while it was fine to rip out walls at will in the 1960's, in 2019 all work must be Grade II compliant. That alone could almost double the cost of renovation.

The cost of renovating Amner Hall was a lot less because it had not been previously gutted and was tenanted. Frogmore flats was a failed experiment that left several flats empty for prolonged periods of time as most staff were loath to live in such an isolated place and it wasn't family friendly. Maybe even spooky with only two out of five flats occupied.

Now the 'tented' effect is one I got used to here when we started the Christchurch Rebuild. Work went on sun, rain and snow and the tenting kept the inside dry, both the house and building supplies which, because they are restoration supplies, will cost even more. Meanwhile, restoration will go ahead full steam. It also meant that the chance of falling or dropping something on someone below was very low. Does anyone know if it has been externally scaffolded under there?

There was one report that so much damage had been done internally that it was hard to find what the original floorplan of the house was hard to ascertain which makes me wonder if old plans and photos will help. It will be nice to see the fireplaces reopened but I wonder if they will be original and burn wood and coal or gas that looks great and doesn't get ash over everything?
 
There's a lot of common sense in what you say, Marg. Although it may seem to a lot of people that the extensiveness of the costs to renovate Frogmore Cottage is being done solely for Harry and Meghan, that's looking at it with tunnel vision. As a Grade II listed building, the work is being done not only to return it to a residence but also to *preserve* it as a national building of interest.

I, for one, find it amazing that the work to start building Windsor Castle was taken on by William the Conqueror around 1070 and is still in use today. Of course its had its changes and modifications and renovations over the years but its because of those changes and modifications and renovations that Windsor Castle is still a residence of the monarch to this day.
 

Never knew FC was so visible from the long walk and they won't be able to reroute it since it's a public road. That's a major privacy concern I wonder how they will address it.
 
Although it may seem to a lot of people that the extensiveness of the costs to renovate Frogmore Cottage is being done solely for Harry and Meghan, that's looking at it with tunnel vision. As a Grade II listed building, the work is being done not only to return it to a residence but also to *preserve* it as a national building of interest.
I always hate it when the DF and other tabloids insist that the Souverain Grant is payed by the taxpayer. Because it isn't. It's the share of the monarch from the gains from the Crown Estate, which habe been turned over to parliament by George III. to make it easier to divide between the "public income" of the monarch, to be spent on residences and cost of representation etc. and the "private income" from the Duchy of Lancaster. Because George III. did not think it is fair that he should receive all of the gains of the Estate which belonged to the "Crown", but only that part he needed to be able to pay for his "public" duties.


Frogmore Cottage is part of the Crown Estate - so it is IMHO the responsibility to renovate the house so it can be rented out to a new tennant. I don't understand why the Queen pays for it, IMHO the Crown Estate should pay for that.


Nobody talks about the work the Crown Estate is doing in renovating and modernizing other homes in their portfolio that are to be rented out. Why? Because these articles are only meant to infuriate the public against the Queen and her family. Hence the misleading and false information given. The "taxpayer" only pays for security - if you are not in danger, then the "taxpayer" pays for the police car patrouilling your neighborhood. If you are a prince of the realm, you are much more in danger and need tighter security. It on case-to-case base but IMHO making sure that citizens are protected is a responibility the state has to cover from the taxes.
 
I always thought Charles would keep BP as offfices and for official events while staying at CH, however a part of me now thinks ge will move into BP due to the large cost of renovations (notice how Queens apartments are planned to be done last...) and because I think he feels as King he should reside there and would want to avoid any apperance of not being the King in every way his mother has been sovereign.
I,.. think that Charles would personally be quite happy to remain at CH and not move to BP at all. The Queen and Prince Philip felt the same although Winston Churchill got the lucky job of informing them that the Government insisted that the King and Queen live at BP end of story.

When the time comes the government of the time may feel the same, especially with the UK out of the EU and re-establishing itself as a Sovereign State because nothing says England or UK better than Buckingham Palace. :D

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan will be happily established tucked away in Frogmore Cottage, raising their child or children well out of the extraordinary upset and movement ensuing upon the death of the Monarch or the Elevation of a new one.
 
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I'd hire Vicky Charles too if I could afford it. She's a great choice (if the story is true).
 
... I have always wondered how often the BRF and staff take a strategic look at the property they own or leasehold and do some kind of strategic planning. At the time of the Windsor fire, I think they were not doing strategic planning beyond "lets cross our fingers and hold off repairs until..." I think the fire brought home to them that maintenance has to be done and that if you can plan for it, you can manage the cost over time. You can at least have ten year plans for what it makes sense to prioritize and how much you can spend...

I'm not sure we can say that the royal family did not previously do strategic planning regarding their properties. However, I totally agree that after the fire at Windsor, perhaps a great deal more attention and strategic planning has ensued, especially regarding updating and being careful re old wiring.

The fire at Windsor in 1992 is said to have occurred at the time of construction work being done in part of Windsor castle, so what you indicate about them 'holding off on repairs' would not be pertinent in the case of the Windsor Castle fire necessarily. Luckily, as a result of the construction most of the furnishings had been removed from the area under construction, aside from drapes at the windows which is presumed to have played a role in the fire catching and burning out of control.

The fire did overall end up presenting the opportunity for renovation, restoration and updating. I get this information from the very informative DVD: Windsor Castle: A Royal Year (2006). Prince Philip designed new stained glass windows, and he himself takes viewers on a tour of the restored area of the castle.
 
The Duchess of Sussex reportedly wants the home on the Windsor estate to look like the chain of private members' clubs.

MDR... how deeply impersonal, and 'corporate', but I'd expected something better from the Lady.
 
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