Harry and Meghan face a new problem, writes Daniela Elser. Photo / Netflix
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been evicted from their UK base, Frogmore Cottage, following the release of the Duke of Sussex’s explosive memoir.
According to The Sun, the couple is now making arrangements to have the remaining belongings they’d left behind in the UK shipped to their new home in Montecito, California.
In what’s sure to come as a further blow, King Charles has reportedly suggested his brother, the disgraced Prince Andrew - move into the five-bedroom Windsor house instead.
However, the publication reports that Andrew is so far “resisting” the offer to downgrade from his nearby Royal Lodge mansion.
The Sun reports that the new monarch began the process of removing them from Frogmore Cottage just days after Spare was released in early January.
Frogmore Cottage was gifted to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by the late Queen when they got married in 2018. It underwent significant renovations – costing taxpayers a reported £2.4 million (NZ$4.7 million) - before they eventually moved in.
However, Harry and Meghan lived there for less than a year before announcing they were quitting royal duties and moving overseas in early 2020.
They have since reportedly paid back the cost of the renovations after landing a series of lucrative commercial deals.
A source told The Sun that the news of their Windsor eviction “surely spells the end of Harry and Meghan’s time in the UK.”
It also throws heavy doubt over their attendance at the King’s coronation on May 6.
Last month, it was revealed that the Duke of York was “distraught” over the prospect of being “evicted” from his palatial home in Windsor, with a dramatic cut to his yearly earnings looming from April.
Andrew, 63, currently lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, in the 30-room Royal Lodge mansion in Berkshire, which is about 5km from Windsor Castle – his home since 2004.
However, this was only made possible by an annual $474,000 subsidy paid to the Duke from his late mother’s private estate – which is now under King Charles’ control.
As such, it will be cut from next month, leaving Andrew reportedly unable to foot the bill of the Royal Lodge’s upkeep.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan are believed to be in something of a stalemate with his father and brother, Prince William, with the Sussexes reportedly demanding an apology and private summit before they will commit to attending the upcoming coronation.
However, it’s been widely reported that the Palace will not be granting that request.
It comes after Harry fired a number of accusations at his family in Spare, including claims that his brother pushed him to the ground during a physical altercation, that Kate had been cold toward his wife, and that Charles and Camilla’s offices had deliberately leaked private stories about them to the media.
Harry and Meghan – along with their children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 – currently reside in a $34m (US$21m) mansion with nine bedrooms.
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