Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially vacated their Frogmore Cottage home after being asked to give up the property on the Windsor Castle estate earlier this year, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace confirmed on Wednesday.
In a briefing given to journalists covering the publication of the annual Sovereign Grant Report—the breakdown of the monarchy's public funding expenditure—the spokesperson said that the couple had removed the last of their belongings from the property and, per the Daily Telegraph, that: "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 and Meghan were given the use of the cottage by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 when the couple were expecting their first baby. The property had originally been staff accommodation and required structural refurbishment and redecoration before it could be made habitable.
The structural improvements were paid for from the sovereign grant, the money given to the monarch each year from the U.K. Government to fund their official expenses. Harry and Meghan paid for the surface redecoration of the cottage, the fixtures and fittings, themselves.
In 2020, when the couple announced they were seeking to change their working roles within the monarchy, they stated their intention to retain the use of Frogmore Cottage with the permission of Queen Elizabeth, who still owned the property.
When the couple stepped down fully from their working royal roles and moved permanently to the U.S. in 2020, the Frogmore Cottage arrangement did not change. However, the couple repaid the estimated $3.2 million of public money (through the sovereign grant) spent on its structural refurbishments.
Since their move to the U.S., Harry and Meghan made only two public stays at Frogmore. One with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, and another for the period following the Queen's death that September.
The couple announced in March 2023 that they had been asked to vacate the cottage, which came just six months after the queen's death and the accession of Harry's father, King Charles III.
A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: "We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage."
The timing of the request was noted for coming soon after the release of Harry and Meghan's bombshell Netflix docuseries in December 2022 and the publication of the prince's memoir, Spare, in January 2023.
Both projects caused embarrassment for the royals, who were on the receiving end of a number of allegations from the couple, including that they were unsupportive during Meghan's attacks from the tabloid press and that Harry had been the victim of a physical assault from Prince William.
Since vacating Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan will have to make private accommodation arrangements should they wish to visit Britain. There is also the potential that the Sussexes could stay with King Charles or another royal relative in a residence that has full-time security, such as Clarence House or Buckingham Palace.
Security while in Britain has become a key concern for Harry, who had his 24-hour state funded bodyguards removed when he became a non-working royal back in 2020. Previously, Frogmore Cottage being in the grounds of Windsor Castle meant that the house, and its residents, were protected by the wider castle security measures already in place.
In his memoir, Harry recounted how he had been offered the use of Frogmore Cottage by Queen Elizabeth and how he and Meghan turned it into their home.
According to the prince, Elizabeth described the house as "a bit of a building site. Bit of a shell. But do go and have a look and do tell me if it works."
"We went that day and Granny was right," he wrote. "The house spoke to us both. Charming, full of potential. Hard by the Royal Burial Ground, but so what? Didn't bother me or Meg. We wouldn't disturb the dead if they'd promise not to disturb us.
"I rang Granny and said Frogmore Cottage would be a dream come true. I thanked her profusely. With her permission we began sitting down with builders, planning the minimum renovations, to make the place habitable—piping, heating, water."
Reports in the British press suggested in March that Frogmore Cottage could become the new home of Prince Andrew, King Charles' younger brother who retired from public life in 2022 following denied sexual abuse allegations and questions over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The prince currently resides at Royal Lodge, a sprawling mansion on the Windsor Castle estate which was the former home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The Buckingham Palace spokesperson declined to comment on the speculation over Andrew's living arrangements on Wednesday, and noted, per the Daily Telegraph, that: "No decision has been made on the future occupant of Frogmore Cottage at this point."
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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