The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were all smiles, as they were pictured for the first time since Buckingham Palace confirmed that they had vacated Frogmore Cottage.
In images published by MailOnline, Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, were seen holding hands as they left an office building in Santa Barbara, California on Friday.
The Duchess looked effortlessly chic in a white shirt with brown tailored shorts and tan sandals. She accessorized her ensemble with a cream fedora hat, sunglasses and stacked gold bracelets.
Meanwhile, the Duke sported a teal polo shirt with blue jeans, sunglasses and a baseball cap embroidered with ‘California’.
Their appearance came just a day after Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated Frogmore Cottage. The Duke and Duchess have repaid the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant in relation to the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, thus leaving the Crown with a greatly enhanced asset.”
The Grade-II listed property was converted from separate apartments into a four-bedroom house as part of £2.4 million of renovations before Harry and Meghan moved in ahead of Prince Archie’s birth in May 2019.
However, the Sussexes lived in Windsor for six months before announcing their decision to step back as senior royals and moved to the US. Up until now, they had kept Frogmore Cottage as their UK base.
The Sussexes later repaid the cost of the renovations in a deal that included leasing Frogmore Cottage for “several years”.
But they were reportedly asked to leave in January this year, following the publication of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, which laid bare details of his complicated relationship with his father, King Charles, his stepmother, Queen Camilla, and older brother, the Prince of Wales.
Harry and Meghan moved into their first family home in Montecito in July 2020. The couple’s daughter, Princess Lilibet, was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in June 2021 but celebrated her first birthday at Frogmore Cottage last summer when the Sussexes visited the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Since stepping back from royal life, Harry and Meghan signed deals with Netflix, which saw the release of their docuseries last December, and audio giant Spotify.
However, it was confirmed last month that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s deal with Spotify has ended after the podcast Meghan hosted was not renewed for a second season.
 The parting of ways was confirmed by a statement from Archewell Audio, the couple’s content creation label, and Spotify.
Meghan hosted the podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, chatting to celebrities, historians, and experts about the history of stereotypes leveled against women.
Guests included tennis champion Serena Williams, singer Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, and actors Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu.
