Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could be getting a “refund” after they were thrown out of Frogmore Cottage and after spending £2.4 million on refurbishments and apparently paying rent in advance.
King Charles issued a notice to the Sussexes that they would have to vacate the five-bedroom mansion on Tuesday in a dramatic move reportedly sparked by repeated attacks on Queen Consort Camilla in the duke’s memoir, Spare.
The decision was supported by both his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales, it is understood.
However, it has now raised questions about whether the Crown Estate, which leases Frogmore from the Sussexes, might actually end up owing the couple money.
Originally five dilapidated staff residences, these were converted into a large house with a private garden initially using £2.4 million in taxpayers’ money.
In addition, more than half of Britons support King Charles’s decision to evict Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from Frogmore Cottage, according to research.
One in three consider the decision “completely fair,” and 49 percent think it should have happened sooner.
The poll of 1,000 adults found that 44 percent believe Meghan Markle is to blame for King Charles’s decision, which she reportedly made in January.
But six in 10 believe Harry and Meghan will use the eviction to try to win over the public.
A spokesman for the One Poll research agency, which conducted the study, said: “It appears that Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the British public is as strained as it is with the Royal Family.”
The couple is now based in Los Angeles, so it could be that the Royal Family is simply trying to reallocate that space to someone who will use it more.
“But the Palace is keeping quiet on the matter at the moment, so it’s hard to guess their true motivations.”
The couple themselves paid for anything beyond the basic fixtures and fittings.
At the time, the couple was said to be “relieved and pleased” to reimburse taxpayers for the renovations.
“They are ‘very relieved and very pleased’ to have been able to pay off the debt so quickly,” a source close to them told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl.
It continued: ‘This has been a proactive step and something they wanted to do from the start. There was no requirement [from the Queen] for them to pay the money back, but it was important to them that they do so, and after the deal with Netflix they were in a position to do so. I think this is a pretty significant moment for them.”
The source added: “Now they are in their forever home, it is the start of their new life and they are looking forward to everything to come.”
However, they spent only six months in the house before moving to North America, first to Canada and then to California, where they bought an £11 million mansion in Montecito.
Despite several public statements by Harry that he now sees his future in the US, he and Meghan decided to reimburse the Crown Estate for the cost of the renovations in a deal that included leasing Frogmore Cottage for an unspecified number of years.
The couple claimed it would mean “their family would always have a place to call home in the UK” as they pursued lucrative business deals abroad.
More importantly, the Sussexes also felt that paying back public money that had been spent on Frogmore would deflect continued criticism.
