What Is Frogmore House?
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle informed their aides they wanted to host their wedding at Frogmore House, the suggestion was so laughable that staff reportedly told them to pick a more "practical" option, according to Vogue.
The couple seemingly compromised: They would say their vows in Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel and hold a reception for all of the invited guests in the neighboring St George's Hall, but an exclusive group would RSVP to an after-after-party at Frogmore House as well.
The official royal residence located just a mile from the castle already holds a special place in their hearts. During their early days, the duo reportedly picnicked on the secluded lawn, away from the paparazzi in London. After Prince Harry popped the question, they then posed for engagement photos on the home's storied steps.
So what is Frogmore House and why is it so special? You'd have to go all the way back to 1762 when its romantic history begins. King George the III - the same one from your American history class - bought the property for his wife Queen Charlotte, who used it as a country retreat. She invested great care in creating its fantastical 35-acre gardens and follies, which have only become more elaborate over the years.
Besides planting over 4,000 trees and shrubs, she commissioned an 18th-century "Gothic ruin" that's covered by wisteria every summer. And in case you were wondering, the name "Frogmore" actually comes from the number of chirping frogs that live in the surrounding area.
Nearly a century later, Queen Victoria also fell in love with the place, using the Gothic ruin as a breakfast and reading room and building her own special teahouse. When her beloved husband Prince Albert died, the sovereign had him interred there in the Royal Mausoleum. That and the surrounding burial ground is now home to many other famous graves, including her mother the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Windsor and his controversial wife Wallis Simpson, and Queen Victoria herself.
Whether you find the surrounding tombs morbid or mystical, the house on the estate has served as a royal retreat for decades. While no one has lived their permanently in recent years, Queen Elizabeth frequently visits for picnics and Prince Philip even decorated a special room with memorabilia from the decommissioned royal yacht. Here's the family at Frogmore in 1965, when Prince Edward was just a baby:
And again in 1968, with the royal children looking a little bit older:
More recently, the house (which dates even farther back to 1680!) hosted another wedding reception. Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips married Autumn Kelly in St George's Chapel back in 2008. The couple then celebrated their nuptials at Frogmore House.
With so much storied history and quite possibly the most picturesque background in all of England, it's no surprise Meghan and Harry wanted to tie the knot there. If you haven't received your gilded invitation to the party yet, don't worry. Frogmore opens to the public a few days every year. Let's just say May 19th won't be one of them.
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