You may have seen headlines that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been asked to leave their home, Frogmore Cottage, in the U.K. What exactly went down and what does that mean for the royals? We’re breaking it all down.
A spokesperson for the couple’s Archewell Foundation corroborated the news with People, stating, “We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage.”
According to the Sun, King Charles is evicting Prince Harry and Meghan. The outlet claims King Charles plans to downgrade his younger brother Prince Andrew (who was ousted from his Buckingham Palace apartment, and lives in a Windsor mansion) to the much-smaller Frogmore Cottage. Andrew officially stepped back from public royal duties and was stripped of his HRH title after sexual abuse allegations came to light, as well as his ties with disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The royal settled a civil sexual assault lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in February of 2022.
Harry currently holds the lease on the cottage. The royal residence was gifted to the couple by Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present. After renovating the cottage, the pair relocated to Markle’s native California in 2020 when they took a step back as working members of the royal family.
Despite their Montecito address, the couple continues to retain Frogmore as their U.K. residence, reportedly signing a 12-month lease renewal last April. They stayed there last during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee festivities and celebrated their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday with a backyard party in June.
The Sun has reported that the removal of the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as been communicated through “a flurry of letters and emails” between Buckingham Palace and the couple. The deadline to move out was reportedly extended from a few weeks to the coronation of King Charles. While vacating the property will leave Harry and Meghan without an official royal residence, many are left wondering what this will mean if the couple decides to attend the coronation. Many have speculated that King Charles would offer temporary accommodations if that were to be the case.
The Sussexes’ relationship with the rest of the royal family has been strained since their bombshell two-part Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, and the release of Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare in January. Since then, there has reportedly been no advancement in mending fences.
According to People, a palace insider reportedly told the publication that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will, in fact, be invited to the royal affair. However, a source close to the couple has shared that they have yet to receive an invitation.
According to the outlet, King Charles is anxious for the situation to “calm down” before his ascension to the throne. A source close to the royals said, “It is such a momentous occasion for Charles, and he would want his son to be at the coronation to witness it. He would like to have Harry back in the family. If they don’t sort it out, it will always be part of the King’s reign and how he has left his family disjointed. He has had a reputation as a distant parent, and it would be awful for him for that to continue.”
During the promotional tour for his book, Prince Harry sat down with ITV News’ Tom Bradby for the feature, Harry: The Interview. The Duke explained, “It never needed to be this way.”
“I want a family. Not an institution,” said Prince Harry. “They feel as though it’s better to keep us, somehow, as the villains,” referring to the royal family. He added, “They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.”
The Duke touched upon his relationship with his father, King Charles III, and his brother, William, the Prince of Wales. “I would like to get my father back,” Prince Harry said. “I would like to have my brother back.”
Watch this space ahead of King Charles III’s official coronation on May 6.
