LONDON (CNN) – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, the couple’s official UK residence, their spokesman told CNN on Wednesday.
“We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage,” the spokesman said.
The statement followed a report in Britain’s The Sun newspaper that the couple had been evicted from the Crown estate, which had since been offered to Prince Andrew, one of King Charles III’s brothers.
Buckingham Palace said Wednesday it would not comment. A royal source told CNN that any such discussion is a private family matter.
Prince Harry and Meghan now reside in the United States but have retained the early 19th-century estate as their British base. The country house, gifted to the Sussexes by the late Queen Elizabeth II, occupies a corner of the Windsor estate in west London.
They restored the property and moved in just before the arrival of their son Archie in May 2019. However, the renovation sparked controversy after the couple retired from public life and it was discovered that £2.4million (around US$3million) of British taxpayer money was being used to refurbish the cottage. They have since returned the public funds after moving to California.
General view of the exterior of Frogmore Cottage. (Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images/FILE).
The work, which included the removal of a chimney, the completion of the roof, new stairs, chimney installations and a new ‘floating’ wood floor, was detailed in planning documents for the council. The Duke and Duchess paid the cost of all the fittings and furniture privately.
The Sussexes stayed at the estate when they returned to Britain in 2022, including attending the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations over the summer.
Prince Andrew currently resides near the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. The Duke of York also retired from royal duties in 2019 after a disastrous interview about his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein plunged the family into an unprecedented crisis.
According to The Sun, the couple were reportedly asked to vacate the property days after the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare, in January.
The 38-year-old royal held almost nothing back as he dismantled the public’s perception that he was the carefree, fun-loving party prince and addressed the devastating effects of his mother’s death and his experimentation with drugs as a method of managing pain and her struggles to find love
Buckingham Palace has repeatedly declined to comment on the memoir.
The autobiography follows a six-part Netflix documentary the couple released last year and a explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. They claimed there were “concerns” in the royal family about Archie’s skin color, detailed feelings, “caught up.” and said Meghan had suicidal thoughts during her first pregnancy.