As if Meghan Markle doesn’t have enough to be nervous about!
The Duchess of Sussex is about to give birth to her first child, who also happens to be a ROYAL BABY.
But there’s another big change she and Prince Harry are about to embark upon — moving into their new home.
Of course, this is nothing like when you find a new apartment and promise your buddies pizza to help get your boxes up the stairs. No, Meghan and Harry are moving into their new official residence, Frogmore Cottage.
Related: Meghan And Harry Are Going Without A Nanny
The home was given to the couple by Harry’s gran — aka Elizabeth II, the Queen of England — with the presumed intention they will live out the rest of their Royal days there. (When William ascends to the throne, he and Kate Middleton will live in Buckingham Palace.)
But don’t think this is some sad consolation prize. The term “cottage” is pretty misleading — we’re talking about a $4 million, ten bedroom estate here.
However, as nice as the home is — or rather, as nice as it will be when the long overdue renovations are finally finished — there is a big drawback for the superstitious.
It has all the makings of a haunted house.
Frogmore Cottage itself has not specifically been pegged as a poltergeist playground — yet. But it’s rarely open to the public and has up until very recently been home only to British Royal Staff.
So why is it giving some folks the creeps?
ORIGIN
Frogmore House was built around 1680 on the estates of Great and Little Frogmore.
The land, purchased by King Henry VIII in the 1500s, is a low-lying marsh, and the name derives from the many, many frogs which live there… and have always lived there.
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We can only imagine what the place sounds like at night…
GOTHIC RUIN
The grounds are home to an attraction known as the “Gothic Ruin.”
Architect James Wyatt designed the addition, along with many others meant to “modernize” the estate, at the behest of Queen Charlotte in the 1790s.
ROYAL MAUSOLEUM
The site doesn’t just look like it’s home to the dead. It really is!
When Prince Albert died in 1861, his widow Queen Victoria chose Frogmore for the site of their Royal Mausoleum.
The site sits adjacent to Frogmore Cottage and has remained a tourist attraction for a century and a half.
But that’s not all…
CEMETERY
The Royal cemetery is directly across from the Cottage! It’s practically their front yard!
OK, it’s a ten minute walk, but it is still part of the grounds. (Told you, BIG estate.) They’re literally living next to a burial ground. *shivers*
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In the community of those who believe in the paranormal, Royals in particular are known to haunt their old homes.
People have reported sightings of Henry VIII pacing the halls of Windsor Castle, his beheaded wife Anne Boleyn is said to haunt the Dean’s Cloister, and the ghost of their daughter Elizabeth I supposedly keeps to the Royal Library.
Buried on these grounds are such Royals as Edward IV, Princess Helena, George V, George VI… and innerestingly enough, King Edward VIII.
THE OG MARKLE
Edward VIII became better known as the Duke Of Windsor than as King after giving up the throne after less than a year. Why? He wanted to marry an American commoner!
Spooky coincidence, right?
That union/abdication was THE Royal scandal of 1937 — especially because Wallis Simpson was in no way beloved like Meghan Markle is today. She famously met with Hitler before WWII and was suspected by many of being a Nazi sympathizer.
And yes, Wallis Simpson is also buried on the ground of the Frogmore estate.
It’s quite possible Meghan is in no way superstitious. Maybe she ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
But if you ask us if WE want to live among that many buried bodies in a lowland marsh?? Tough call there. Even if it meant being married to Harry.
What about YOU, Perezcious readers??
[Image via John Rainford/WENN/YouTube.]
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