The royal couple had to convert existing separate staff quarters into a contemporary family home.

“It’s pretty dilapidated now,” veteran royals biographer Ingrid Seward, author of the recent book My Husband and I, told PEOPLE shortly after the move announcement.

Renovations meant that Meghan and Harry got to put their own personal spin on the home.

Complete with a new green-energy center, springy “floating floor” (perfect for yoga) and nontoxic paint, the cottage marries English and California style.

Insiders say the couple have been overseeing last-minute touches, including bookcases built into alcoves and a custom kitchen and dining room, where Harry plans to “do some entertaining,” including hunting parties, says one pal.

With its lush gardens, green fields and serene lake, the grounds of Windsor offer endless acres to roam with the couple’s two dogs and new baby.

“It has the most amazing mulberry walk, where we would pick mulberries for Prince Philip’s mulberry gin,” says a former palace staffer. “And when the Queen is there on a Sunday afternoon, it is a five-minute walk up the hill for tea with Granny. It is gorgeous.”

The cottage is also just a short walk to the charming High Street, where local vendors sell everything from fresh flowers to baby clothes, while beef from the specialized pedigree Sussex herd that grazes nearby is available from the farm shop in the opposite direction.

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