T
he Duke and Duchess of Sussex have finally vacated Frogmore Cottage, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
Harry and Meghan were asked to move any remaining possessions out of their UK home close to Windsor Castle just weeks after the duke criticised his family in his controversial memoir Spare.
The cottage, which was refurbished by the couple and is a Crown Estate property, was their last remaining foothold in the UK. The couple moved to California in March 2020 after initially moving to Canada.
At the annual Sovereign Grant account briefing on royal finances, Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated Frogmore Cottage.
/ PA Archive “We will not be going into any detail on those arrangements here.
“Safe to say that, as has previously been stated, the duke and duchess have paid for the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant in relation to the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, thus leaving the Crown with a greatly enhanced asset.”
Harry was last in the UK earlier this month when he gave evidence at the High Court over his alleged hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), before that he had returned briefly for his father the King’s coronation in May.
REUTERS Harry and Meghan moved to the US after stepping down from the working monarchy.
Grade-II listed Frogmore was a gift to the couple from Harry’s grandmother, the late Queen.
In 2019, royal accounts showed Meghan and Harry paid £2.4 million to cover the refurbishment and rental of Frogmore Cottage, on the Home Park Estate, a property they have only used a handful of times since relocating to the US.
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A palace official said there was nothing to add in relation to who would live in the cottage in the future.
“I have nothing to add,” the official said. “Any future occupancy will be determined and communicated in next year’s report.”
The Palace refused to be drawn on whether the King’s disgraced brother the Duke of York would be leaving his Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park.
It has been reported that Andrew had been offered Frogmore Cottage instead.
Sir Michael said: “We will not be discussing any details of the duke’s private lease arrangements here today.”
