Prince Harry, Meghan Markle evicted from Frogmore Cottage despite spending £2.4M for fixes

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will soon lose Frogmore Cottage, their home in the U.K., following reports that King Charles III has decided to give it to his brother Prince Andrew.

The property on the grounds of Windsor Castle has long been under the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's name since Queen Elizabeth II gave the lease to them in 2018. It was their marital home and they considered it their refuge whenever they visit the U.K. because of the police-led security that surrounds the Windsor Estate. The house is covered by the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit.

The couple stayed in Frogmore Cottage when they joined the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. It is also where they celebrated their daughter Lilibet Diana's first birthday. It is their official U.K. residence and where they live during visits to the country for special occasions, including their charity visits and Her Majesty's funeral in September 2022.

But His Majesty has given the couple "until early summer" to vacate the refurbished property, according to royal author Omid Scobie. They were initially given just weeks but at least they now have until after the monarch's coronation on May 6.

A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed that they are being evicted telling the Huffington Post, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore."

Scobie, in his piece on Yahoo UK, said the news left the couple "stunned" and at least two royal family members "appalled." King Charles III reportedly made the decision to hand over the keys to Frogmore Cottage to Prince Andrew last week shortly after the release of Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" on Jan. 10.

The Duke of York, who retreated from public life in 2019 and was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles, was also told to vacate his current residence, the Royal Lodge, by August. He has yet to accept his brother's offer, but with the monarch ending his annual £249,000 grant in April, it is obvious that he can no longer afford to live in his 30-room mansion without additional funding from the Privy Purse.

The Sussexes acquiring Frogmore Cottage did not come without controversy. In 2019, the 19th-century Grade II-listed home underwent exterior and structural renovations before the couple moved in. £2.4m was taken out from the Sovereign Grant for the fixes, but the Sussexes have since repaid the amount in full in 2020.

The couple had envisioned it to be their "forever home" after they added personal touches and made it livable from its previous dire state. They also agreed to pay the lease for the property after they moved to California. They dropped a large sum in advance to the Crown Estate covering rent on the house for the foreseeable future.

Now the public wants to know if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will ask for reimbursement for the large sum they spent on fixing Frogmore Cottage. Award-winning author Tess Gerritsen asked, "...What about the $2.4 million dollars [sic] H&M paid to renovate the Crown's property? Does the Crown just keep it?"

Another wrote, "I'd ask for a refund if I were them. It's all too sad" and a third commented, "Perhaps some prorated portion of the renovation repayment should be returned to them since they won't be using the property."

King Charles III's decision to have Prince Harry and Meghan Markle vacate Frogmore Cottage comes at a time when they still do not have access to police protection in the U.K. The duke has since filed a legal case against the Home Office over a decision not to allow him to personally pay for his and his family's police security when they are in the country. They will soon be without a base that offers the same level of protection that senior royal members have access too.