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59.

We’d rented a house in Oxfordshire. Just a place to get away now and then from the maelstrom¹,

but also from Nott Cott, which was charming but too small. And falling down around our heads.

It got so bad that one day I had to phone Granny. I told her we needed a new place to live. I

explained that Willy and Kate hadn’t simply outgrown² Nott Cott, they’d fled it, because of all the

required repairs, and the lack of room, and we were now in the same boat. With two rambunctious³

dogs…and a baby on the way…

I told her we’d discussed our housing situation with the Palace, and we’d been offered several

properties, but each was too grand, we thought. Too lavish⁴. And too expensive to renovate⁵.

Granny gave it a think and we chatted again days later.

Frogmore, she said.

Frogmore, Granny?

Yes. Frogmore.

Frogmore House?

I knew it well. That was where we’d taken our engagement photos.

No, no—Frogmore Cottage. Near Frogmore House.

Sort of hidden, she said. Tucked away. Originally home to Queen Charlotte and her daughters,

then to one of Queen Victoria’s aides, and later it was chopped into smaller units. But it could be

reassembled. Lovely place, Granny said. Plus, historic. Part of the Crown Estate. Very sweet.

I told her that Meg and I loved the gardens at Frogmore, we went walking there often, and if it

was near those, well, what could be better?

She warned: It’s a bit of a building site. Bit of a shell. But go and have a look and do tell me if

it works.

We went that day, and Granny was right. The house spoke⁶ to us both. Charming, full of

potential. Hard by the Royal Burial Ground, but so what? Didn’t bother me or Meg. We wouldn’t

disturb the dead if they’d promise not to disturb us.

I rang Granny and said Frogmore Cottage would be a dream come true. I thanked her

profusely⁷. With her permission we began sitting down with builders, planning the minimum

renovations, to make the place habitable—piping, heating, water.

While the work was being done, we thought we could move into Oxfordshire full time. We

loved it out there. The air fresh, the verdant⁸ grounds—plus, no paps. Best of all, we’d be able to

call upon the talents of my father’s longtime butler, Kevin. He knew the Oxfordshire house, and

he’d know how to turn it quickly into a home. Better yet, he knew me, held me as a baby, and

befriended my mother when she was wandering Windsor Castle in search of a sympathetic face.

He told me that Mummy was the only person in the family who ever dared venture “below stairs,”

to chat with staff. In fact she’d often sneak⁹ down and sit with Kevin in the kitchen, over a drink or

snack, watching telly. It had fallen to Kevin, on the day of Mummy’s funeral, to greet me and

Willy on our return to Highgrove. He stood on the front steps, he recalled, waiting for our car,

rehearsing what he’d say. But when we pulled up and he opened the car door I said:

How are you holding up, Kevin?

So polite, he said.

So repressed, I thought.

Meg adored Kevin, and vice¹⁰ versa, so I thought this could be the start of something good. A

much-needed change of scenery, a much-needed ally in our corner. Then one day I looked down at

my phone: a text from our team alerting me to huge splashy stories in The Sun and the Daily Mail,

featuring detailed¹¹ overhead photos of Oxfordshire.

A helicopter was hovering¹² above the property, a pap hanging out of the door, aiming telephoto

lenses at every window, including our bedroom.

Thus ended the dream of Oxfordshire.

1 maelstrom   

n.大乱动；大漩涡

参考例句：

• Inside,she was a maelstrom of churning emotions.她心中的情感似波涛汹涌，起伏不定。
• The anxious person has the spirit like a maelstrom.焦虑的人的精神世界就像一个大漩涡。

2 outgrown   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
• The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。

3 rambunctious   

adj.喧闹的；粗鲁的

参考例句：

• Their rambunctious son always got into trouble.他们那个不受管束的儿子老是惹麻烦。
• It's not the chirping,rambunctious play that they did when they first arrived.他们现在已经不像刚开始见面那会儿，总是冲着对方乱叫，或者在玩耍时动作粗暴。

4 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

5 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 profusely   

ad.abundantly

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

8 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

9 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。