LONDON – Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have been invited to move out of Frogmore Cottage, their five-bedroom Georgian home on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the couple’s press officer said, in a new signal from the bitter breakup between them and the British royal family since they retired from royal duties and left Britain.
Queen Elizabeth II offered the house to the couple, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, upon their wedding in 2018.
It served as their base of operations during their infrequent visits to Britain since they moved to Montecito, California.
“We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage,” said press secretary Ashley Hansen, who is head of communications for the couple’s Archewell foundation.
Hansen did not elaborate on the reasons or timing of the eviction, which was first reported on Wednesday by the British tabloid The sun.
The Sun said King Charles III had made the decision shortly after Harry’s memoirs were published, replacement“, which is filled with scathing accounts of Harry’s dysfunctional relationship with Carlos, his father, and with his brother, the Prince William.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report, just as it declined to comment on claims made in Harry’s book.
The country house discussions were a “private family matter,” according to a person with ties to the palace who was not authorized to speak to the media and commented on condition of anonymity.
The transfer of the royal property gained more interest with reports from The Sun that the King had offered Frogmore Cottage to the Prince Andrew, his disgraced younger brother.
That way, Andrés would have a home after moving out of his much larger house, Royal lodgealso located in extensive parkland near Windsor Castle.
Andrew can no longer afford to stay in residence, The Sun and other British newspapers reported, after the King planned to cut his allowance.
At the behest of Charles of England, Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his honorary titles and sent him into a kind of internal exile after settling a lawsuit for sexual assault stemming from its association with the convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Losing Frogmore Cottage will be a bitter pill for Harry and Meghan to swallow, and it casts doubt on the couple attending the king’s coronation in May.
They spent £2.4 million (about $2.9 million) renovating the charming but dilapidated house, which had been divided into flats for Windsor Castle employees.
The renovation, paid for with taxpayer funds, caused outrage and when Harry and Meghan negotiated their retirement from royal duties in 2020, they repaid the money.
The couple has maintained itself thanks to agreements with Netflixwho recently aired a documentary about her break with the royal family, as well as with Random penguin housewho published Harry’s memoirs.
In the royal family’s opaque finances, the King is not the private owner of Frogmore Cottage.
It forms part of the crown estate, which belongs to and is administered by the monarch.
But any rental income would go to the British treasure.
Carlos could face other real estate decisions following his mother’s death in September.
Although he works at Buckingham Palace, the king continues to live there mainly Clarence House, his nearby London residence and at Highgrove House, his weekend retreat in Gloucestershire.
This leaves the two main residences of the Queen, the Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, practically empty.
Located within the enclosed grounds of Windsor Castle, Frogmore Cottage has offered Harry and his family shelter and security, which the couple say have become major issues for them when visiting Britain, as they no longer have funded police protection For the state.
In the US they pay for private security.
As ‘Spare’ began, Harry recalled a tense meeting with his father and brother at Frogmore Gardens, not far from the cottage, to settle their differences, just hours after Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
“How beautiful this is, I thought. And how sad too,” Harry wrote.
“Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead, it turned out to be just another quick stop.”
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.