Frogmore Cottage, the former UK residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has been vacant for over a year since Prince Harry and Meghan officially moved out.
During the annual Sovereign Grant briefing, palace officials confirmed that there are no new tenants in the Grade II Crown Estate property located in Windsor Home Park.
The Sussexes vacated the four-bedroom cottage on June 29, 2023, after repaying the £2.4 million spent on its refurbishment and rental. Harry and Meghan discussed the process of packing up the house in their Netflix docuseries.
A Palace official said at the briefing: “During the year, Frogmore Cottage has remained empty. I don’t think, at this point, I would speculate on who will be the future occupants of the cottage. The Sovereign Grant has been fully reimbursed for the refurbishment costs of Frogmore cottage when it was initially provided to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and, therefore, there is no cost to the Sovereign Grant other than some routine maintenance, but it would be required for any of the buildings.”
It was previously reported that the disgraced Duke of York was offered the smaller Frogmore Cottage as an alternative to his larger residence, Royal Lodge. However, Prince Andrew signed a 75-year lease on Royal Lodge in 2003.
After stepping back from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan moved to the US with their son, Prince Archie. They initially stayed at Hollywood producer Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills mansion before purchasing a $15 million home in Montecito. The couple welcomed their daughter, Princess Lilibet, in 2021.
During his visit to the UK in May for the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, the Duke reportedly stayed at a hotel, having declined his father King Charles’ offer to stay in a royal residence.
Relations between Harry and the royal family have become strained in recent years, following explosive claims about Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales in the Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview, their Netflix docuseries, and Harry’s memoir, Spare. The Duke last met with his father in person in February after the King’s cancer diagnosis.
