The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lived in Frogmore Cottage before they were told to evict the Windsor property after they stepped down as working royals and relocated to America
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were gifted Frogmore Cottage by the late Queen as a wedding present back in 2018. But they made an assumption that would cause them great upset further down the line.
Harry and Meghan resided at Frogmore Cottage from April 2019 until early 2020, when they stepped down as working royals and relocated – first to Canada and then Los Angeles. As a result of their decision, King Charles instructed them to evict the cottage in March 2023, leaving them without an official royal residence.
Harry and Meghan had lived abroad for three years at the time. Nevertheless, they were said to be very upset by the eviction notice, not least because they had made an ‘awkward’ initial assumption about the property.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle thought royals were ‘belittling Harry’ with ‘small’ royal home, book claims
Royal author Tom Quinn told the Mirror at the time: “Harry and Meghan imagined Frogmore would always be there for them even if they came back to the UK for just a few weeks each year and even if they were no longer working royals.
“At the time, few people realised what a slap in the face the eviction from Frogmore felt like for Harry – it was the last straw. Harry was absolutely furious and in tears about being evicted from Frogmore – he felt his father had no right to do it and that it was purely vindictive.”
Quinn continued: “Harry couldn’t see that choosing to stop being a working royal would inevitably mean being deprived of his royal residence. Harry took it as a cruel rejection – a painful reminder of all that he felt when his father fought with his mother during their long drawn out, painful divorce. “For many Harry is just a poor little rich kid behaving like a spoiled brat, but Harry sees himself as the eternal victim.”
Frogmore Cottage is a five-bedroomed home, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle. It was renovated in 2019, costing the taxpayer a cool £2.4 million, but Harry and Meghan agreed to pay back the money for the refurbishments when they gave up their royal titles and moved to the US.
At the end of June in 2023, a statement by a Sussex spokesperson read: “We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage.”
The couple had last spent time at the cottage in 2022, when they came to the UK to attend the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. They also hosted their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday there.
READ MORE: Prince Andrew takes up new hobby after threat of eviction from crumbling Royal Lodge home
Sadly, Harry’s relationship with his family has deteriorated even further since he handed back the keys to Frogmore Cottage. After losing his legal challenge over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK, he gave yet another bombshell interview that has only served to widen the gulf, an insider has revealed.
Harry has come under fire for remarks he made to the BBC, in which he divulged: “I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.” He also suggested the King could have changed the outcome of his security case, claiming it felt like an “establishment stitch up”.
Now an insider has revealed why a reconciliation with the royals is unlikely to happen. “There is zero trust,” the source told HELLO! . “The family feels that private conversations with Harry are not possible.”
The source, quoted as a former friend, added: “He needs the world to forgive him. His family have never bent on their stance, which is that he should not take up issues in public.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply