When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle controversially stepped back from royal responsibilities and fled England altogether, they were likely hoping to escape the influence of the Royal Family. However, even living in America has apparently not been enough to spare the couple the petty wrath of King Charles himself.
Back before “Megxit,” the couple lived in Frogmore Cottage, and even after they left the country, this was their home away from home and part of an important legacy for their children. However, the couple has now been officially evicted from the place they once called home.
Just what is this cute little cottage, and what makes it so important? And who is the controversial new tenant supposed to be? Keep reading to find out!
What is Frogmore Cottage?
Once upon a time, Frogmore Cottage was part of Harry and Meghan’s own “happily ever after.” The beautiful cottage was a gift from Queen Elizabeth II to help the happy couple celebrate their wedding in 2018.
It’s also worth noting that while “cottage” brings to mind a cozy little space, Frogmore is more like a mansion. The property is a whopping 5,089 sq ft and once had 10 bedrooms before Harry and Meghan renovated the property. Of course, that renovation may be one of the reasons that King Charles is now evicting the couple.
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The renovation and the abandonment
While Frogmore Cottage was already a beautiful and historical place to live, it wasn’t quite good enough for Harry and Meghan. And it didn’t take the couple long to make many renovations to the home that cost a cool £2.4 million to complete.
Even at the time, the renovations were a source of controversy because Harry and Meghan had previously renovated their home in Berkshire using money from the Sovereign Grant. But that money is paid for by taxpayers, and those taxpayers were understandably angry at the notion of funding another expensive renovation for the extravagant couple.
The irony is that the couple only lived at Frogmore for a few months before leaving the country. As Cosmopolitan reports, the two agreed to pay back the renovation money to mollify taxpayers, and they initially thought it would take a lot of time to do so. But after making sweetheart media deals with companies like Netflix, the couple was able to pay off the renovations with a single check.
Have Harry and Meghan used the cottage at all?
Even though Harry and Meghan haven’t really lived at Frogmore Cottage for a few years now, the property was still legally theirs. And when the couple made their sporadic visits to the UK from time to time in recent years, they stayed at Frogmore.
Perhaps the biggest indication that Frogmore remains important to the royal couple is that it is where they celebrated their daughter’s first birthday. As the Daily Express reports, the couple previously claimed that “their family would always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom,” and they were likely planning to hold future family celebrations there. Now, though, King Charles has dashed those hopes.
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The eviction order
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, Charles became King. And he has made some bold and surprising decisions since then, with the most recent one being to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage.
According to Metro, the royal couple has verified they have been evicted. According to their official spokesman, “We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage.”
Why, though, would Charles bother to officially kick them out? So someone else could move in there, of course. And you won’t believe who that person is!
Who is (or maybe isn’t) moving in?
According to The Sun, King Charles wants Harry and Meghan out of Frogmore so that Prince Andrew could move in. On the face of it, it seems crazy to honor someone as controversial as the disgraced Andrew (who had a documented relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and settled in a high-profile trial where he was accused of allegedly raping an underage girl). Interestingly, though, it is Andrew’s disgrace that made this move necessary in Charles’ eyes.
For a very long time now, Andrew has been living at the Royal Lodge, a kind of sprawling mansion where Andrew lives with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. But such mansions require a lot of expensive upkeep, and Charles is planning to cut Andrew’s royal incomes (the latest sting after Andrew was stripped of his royal and military titles).
In other words, Andrew won’t be able to afford to stay in his current home, and Charles is offering Frogmore Cottage as a place to live in a seeming gesture of kindness. However, Andrew reportedly hates the idea, and Cosmopolitan reports that the decision stunned Harry and Meghan and left two other royals “appalled.” So it looks to all the world like King Charles is cleaning house: further punishing his disgraced brother Andrew while symbolically closing the door to the UK in the face of Harry and Meghan, the wayward couple that has caused so much recent drama.