There were some questions in the comments about the timeline for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s living arrangements. What happened was that Will and Kate spent their first year of marriage in Wales, living in a rented “cottage” with full security. The Queen “gave” them the luxury apartment in Kensington Palace in 2012, with the idea that it would take a while to renovate extensively, at taxpayer cost. In 2013, the Queen also gifted the Cambridges with Anmer Hall, which is part of the Queen’s “private” Sandringham estate. It was said that the renovations to Anmer Hall – which included ripping out a lovely, brand-new kitchen, and redoing the tennis courts, plus extensive security measures – were paid for by the Queen and Prince Charles. Once they got Anmer Hall, the KP apartment – with it’s multi-million renovation – stayed mostly unused for years. That’s the timeline. Will and Kate spent a fortune of taxpayer money and Charles’ money on those two renovations.

Now that Prince Harry and Meghan are sorting out their living situation, we can expect more of the same kind of reporting about the costs, right? For sure. But maybe it’s just me, but it feels like there’s a weird edge to the reporting about Meghan’s “taxpayer-funded” whatever. Like the British press is two seconds away from calling her a “welfare queen.” Here’s the Daily Mail’s latest:

Taxpayers could fork out up to £5 million to protect Meghan and Harry’s new home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, it is claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are renovating 19th-century Frogmore Cottage before moving there from Kensington Palace in the spring. Plans will already be being formulated about how to secure the cottage grounds, which in places are only separated from public roads by a six-foot wall.

Former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe told The Mirror: ‘The costs of building and security arrangements could balloon to £5million in the first year. There is no protection at Frogmore, there is no one living there. There are costs of at least two or three private protection officers and to make sure the estate is policed adequately by Thames Valley Police. There will have to be major reviews of the security surrounding that property, exposed on virtually every side.’

The Grade-II listed cottage, near Frogmore House, is 200 yards from the publicly accessible Long Walk, increasing the need for tight security. Talks on security are believed to be underway between Thames Valley Police, the Metropolitan Police and Kensington Palace. The cottage has been used as rented accommodation for members of the royal staff and had fallen into disrepair.

Harry and Meghan held their wedding reception at Frogmore House, which overlooks the two-storey, stucco-faced cottage, and their engagement pictures were taken in the grounds. It is understood that the couple hope to turn Frogmore Cottage into a five-bedroom family home, with space for a nursery and a live-in nanny. A Kensington Palace spokesman said the costs of any substantial building work would be covered by the Sovereign Grant, which is ultimately funded by the taxpayer.

[From The Daily Mail]

I know from all of the Cambridge coverage that it makes a difference when you’re talking about properties owned by the “public” and properties which are “privately owned” by the Queen. Sandringham is privately owned by the Queen, and she can and does whatever she wants with Sandringham, which is why she gave Anmer Hall to the Cambridges and Charles funded the reno. Since Windsor Castle is the property of “the crown,” ie the public, that’s why the reno/conversion to Frogmore has to be taxpayer-funded. As for the security measures… it is what it is. Personally, I’m glad that they’re taking Meghan’s security seriously, because I feel like she’s getting more threats than the average royal bride. If you’re going to complain about the cost of Meghan and Harry’s security, I hope you also complained about Will and Kate’s expensive security measures.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.