It might only be a matter of time before Princess Beatrice moves into Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s Kensington home, a space on the palace grounds otherwise known as Nottingham Cottage. If she does, the 32-year-old newlywed wouldn’t be making the move alone: Her husband, 37-year-old Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, would be joining her—making this the next royal couple to live in “Nott Cott” since the Sussexes.
The quaint property has been vacant ever since Meghan and Harry left Kensington Palace in March 2019. Even before they announced their plan to step back from their roles as senior royals in January, the couple had relocated to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor ahead of the birth of their son, Archie, in May 2019—meaning that the former cottage has been up for grabs for some time now. It seems that the palace has been waiting for suitable occupants to take over the home, and they might have just found their option now that Princess Beatrice’s wedding to businessman Edoardo has taken place.
The pair married in an intimate, secret ceremony in July 2020. “The couple decided to hold a small private ceremony with their parents and siblings following the postponement of their wedding in May,” a statement from Buckingham Palace read at the time. “The ceremony was attended by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, the couple’s parents and siblings. The Bride was walked down the aisle by her Father. Mr. Mapelli Mozzi’s son Wolfie was best man and pageboy.”
Following their nuptials, the newlyweds are believed to have had a lowkey honeymoon in France, and have also reportedly been spotted on the Amalfi Coast in Italy (Edo’s family owns a villa in the country), according to Hello! But when it comes to where the couple will be headed next, royal experts with the outlet believe Nottingham Cottage is on the horizon.
Meghan and Harry’s old home features two-bedrooms, two reception rooms, a small kitchen, bathroom, and a garden. The interior of the home was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The cottage itself has been previously described as “snug” given that it’s among the smallest properties within Kensington Palace, but small doesn’t have to mean disappointing. The home was even mentioned in Meghan and Harry’s August 2020 biography, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, where royal experts Obie Scobie and Carolyn Durand describe the “very cosy” cottage as “a nice place by anyone’s standards.”
If Bea and Edo do end up moving into the “sweet English house,” they’ll be leaving behind Edo’s family home in Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, where the couple was isolating prior to their wedding. Before that, Bea stayed at an apartment inside of St. James’ Palace in London, which she once shared with her sister, Princess Eugenie. Speaking of whom: Should Bea and Edo move to Nott Cott, Eugenie and her husband Jack Brookbank will be moments away. Their residence, Ivy Cottage, is also located on the Kensington Palace grounds. A family reunion could very well be in the works!