Frogmore Cottage may remain empty more than a year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were evicted but members of the Royal Family still use it, according to a source.
Frogmore Cottage, once home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, has stayed empty since their departure, yet it’s occasionally used as a “hotel” by other Royals, a source claims.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved any remaining possessions from their former official UK residence in 2023, just weeks after Harry criticised his family in his bombshell memoir, Spare.
Palace officials told the annual Sovereign Grant briefing that there have been no new tenants in the Grade II Crown Estate property in Windsor Home Park in the last year.
They said: “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 of Frogmore Cottage given to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Hence, there are no ongoing costs to the Sovereign Grant except for routine maintenance, which applies to all buildings.
In 2019, royal accounts showed Harry and Meghan paid £2.4 million to cover the cottage’s refurbishment and rental.
The property was a gift to the Sussexes from the late Queen, but after moving there after the birth of Prince Archie they relocated to the US, only using the property a handful of times afterwards.
Meanwhile, even though the property has not been handed to a new tenant, it is still being used by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on several occasions when they are in Windsor.
The cottage, built in 1801 for Queen Charlotte is part of the Crown Estate, meaning that it’s part of the Sovereign’s public estate.
A source has previously revealed that members of the Royal Family can pick any of the Firm’s residences across the UK if they’re free at any given time, which is what the York sisters and other royals have done in the past.
The source explained: “Royal residences are like a hotel. Members of the family can check in and out as they please.
“Nobody owns a property so if it’s free at any given time the royal makes a request through the Crown Estate, and they are granted access.
“There is a pecking order, of course, and the more senior royals get priority.”
It was previously reported that the Duke of York was offered the much smaller Frogmore Cottage in a bid to relocate him from the larger Royal Lodge.
But Andrew was said to have signed a 75-year lease on the Royal Lodge mansion in 2003 and refuses to downsize.
Follow us to see more useful information, as well as to give us more motivation to update more useful information for you.
Source: Tampa Bay Times
