Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not bothered by King Charles III’s request to vacate Frogmore Cottage, according to The Times.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be “OK” with the eviction from their United Kingdom residence and weren’t “stunned” by the monarch’s decision, which came one day after the publication of Harry’s explosive memoir “Spare,” The Sun reported.
According to The Times, the couple believe “if we need to move out, we will get ourselves out.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly “OK” with their eviction from Frogmore Cottage. ( Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, were previously said to be “stunned” by their eviction from their royal home, according a report Wednesday from “Finding Freedom” author Omid Scobie. The British journalist claimed the news has left “at least two members of the royal family appalled.”
PRINCE HARRY’S ATTACKS ON ‘VILLAIN’ CAMILLA LED TO FROGMORE COTTAGE EVICTION: EXPERT
“Harry and Meghan have until early summer to vacate,” a source told Scobie in his report for Yahoo! News. “Initially, they were given just weeks, but now they have at least until after the coronation.”
Charles’ coronation is set to take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London. It is unknown if Harry and Meghan will attend.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the pair confirmed to Fox News Digital they had been asked to leave their U.K. Home.
“We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage,” the spokesperson said.
The pair were previously said to be “stunned” by King Charles III’s decision. (Getty Images)
Following Scobie’s report, a source close to Harry and Meghan told The Times they were not “stunned” by the move.
“It is what it is,” the insider told the outlet. “They are not fighting it. They realize they have a home [in California]. They have a roof over their heads. They were very privileged to have a second residence. It’s not going to work out for them there, and that’s OK.
“The world seems to be more distraught over it than they have been.”
Additionally, the couple is said to understand that “change was inevitable” due to Charles’ long-held plans to streamline the monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth II gave the property to the couple as a wedding gift in 2018.
However, the home required renovations, and the Sussexes lived there only several months before they stepped down as senior royals.
Royal accounts for 2019 showed that $3.2 million was spent renovating the house, which involved structural work, rewiring and new flooring. The couple agreed to pay back the money as part of their royal exit. In September 2020, a spokesperson for the couple announced Harry repaid the British taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate the home.
A spokesman for the couple noted Harry had made a contribution to the Sovereign Grant, the public money that goes to the royal family. He said the contribution “fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage.” At the time, it was announced Frogmore Cottage would still be the home of the Sussexes when they visited the U.K.
Charles began eviction proceedings the day after Harry’s memoir was published, per The Sun. (Twitter: Royal Family)
The source told The Times that after receiving Frogmore Cottage as a wedding gift from the late queen and undertaking the needed renovations, the couple “had thought of that property as their forever home.”
“The most alarming thing was that it was a gift from Her Majesty the Queen, and now it is no longer that,” the insider added. “But it’s OK.”
Harry and Meghan lived at Frogmore Cottage for a few months before announcing they were stepping down as working royals in January 2020. They stayed in Canada for a few weeks before moving to the former “Suits” actress’s hometown of Los Angeles. The couple purchased a $14.2 million home in Montecito, California, in June 2020.
Since leaving the U.K., the couple has stayed at Frogmore only a few times. They used the residence when they attended the queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June and returned in September for a series of charity events. The two extended their visit after the queen’s death Sept. 8. Harry returned by himself in 2021 for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and to attend the unveiling of a statue dedicated to his late mother Princess Diana.
Harry and Meghan extended their U.K. visit in September after the queen’s death. (Chris Jackson via Getty Images)
However, Harry and Meghan have expressed concern over their safety if they return to the U.K. Scobie reported that the two viewed Frogmore as their “only sufficiently secure refuge in the country,” given that it is a five-minute walk from Windsor Castle. The couple lost access to police protection in the country after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020. Harry is suing the Home Office over the decision not to allow him to personally pay for police protection.
The source told The Times, “If they come out to the U.K. in the future and need to stay in a hotel, then it complicates things.”
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Scobie reported that the Sussexes were asked to leave because the residence is “needed” for “someone else” — Prince Andrew.
However, a source told The Sun the disgraced Duke of York is “resisting” a move into the five-bedroom renovated estate in Windsor. The outlet reported that Andrew is refusing a downgrade from his current home, the Royal Lodge.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that Andrew would be reluctant to move out of his baronial digs at Royal Lodge and into much more modest quarters at Frogmore Cottage,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital. “His late mother Queen Elizabeth II doted on Andrew and indulged his every lavish whim.
“Unfortunately for the Duke of York, there’s a new sheriff in town. Right now, Charles is making good on his promise to streamline the monarchy by cutting expenses. I’m sure Andrew will not be the only member of the royal family whose belt will be tightened by the new monarch.”
Prince Andrew is reportedly “resisting” moving into Frogmore Cottage. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrew’s annual allowance of nearly $300,000 is being cut in April, The Telegraph reported. Friends claimed to the outlet that this will make it difficult for the duke to maintain the 98-acre Windsor property. The 63-year-old’s main source of income is his Navy pension and a “substantial inheritance” from his late parents.
A source told The Sun Andrew is “resolute” that he will stay at Royal Lodge. According to the outlet, he hasn’t accepted the offer to move yet.
“Prince Andrew feels like this move is a downgrade,” Kinsey Schofield, host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital. “He is insulted. He feels like he’s being punished. He is resentful.”
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Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid his controversial connection to the late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles. Before her death in 2022, the queen also removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, and barred him from using the title “his royal highness” in official settings.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who reached a settlement with accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Andrew strenuously denied Giuffre’s allegations after she sued him, accusing the British royal of sexually abusing her while she traveled with Epstein in 2001 when she was 17.
Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Nolasco and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
