King Charles III has reportedly offered Frogmore Cottage, the UK home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to his younger brother Prince Andrew. The move comes as the King is planning to cut the annual allowances of several family members, including Andrew, who is facing a civil lawsuit in the US over sexual assault allegations.
Frogmore Cottage, a Grade-II listed property in the grounds of Windsor Castle, was a gift to Harry and Meghan from the late Queen Elizabeth II. The couple renovated the cottage at an estimated cost of £2.4 million in 2018-19, which they later repaid in full. They retained the cottage as their UK residence, even after they quit as working royals and moved to California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
According to royal reporter Omid Scobie, Harry and Meghan were shocked by the offer of their home to Andrew, who lives in the nearby Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion that he leased from the Queen for 75 years. The Sussexes would no longer have access to the one secure location left for them in Britain, Scobie wrote.
“It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment,” a friend of the couple was quoted as saying.
Prince Andrew faces legal and financial troubles
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, stepped down as a working royal in 2019 after a controversial interview with BBC Newsnight, in which he failed to express sympathy for the victims of his former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also denied having sex with Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17.
In February 2022, Andrew paid an undisclosed sum to settle the civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre in the US. He has repeatedly denied the allegations and said he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre.
However, his legal troubles are not over yet. He is still facing a criminal investigation in France, where he is accused of raping a woman at Epstein’s Paris apartment in 2019. He is also under scrutiny by the UK’s Charity Commission, which is probing his charitable activities and finances.
Andrew’s financial situation is also precarious, as he relies on his brother’s generosity to maintain his lavish lifestyle. King Charles has reportedly informed Andrew that he will be cutting his annual grant, which could leave him unable to afford the running costs of the Royal Lodge. Andrew is said to be resisting the offer of the smaller Frogmore Cottage, according to a source quoted by The Sun.
King Charles aims to slim down the monarchy
The offer of Frogmore Cottage to Andrew is seen as part of King Charles’s efforts to slim down the monarchy and reduce its costs to the taxpayers. The King, who ascended the throne in April 2022 after the death of his mother, has been keen to modernise the institution and make it more relevant to the public.
He has also been trying to heal the rifts within his family, especially with his son Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan, who have been vocal about their struggles with the royal life and the media scrutiny. The couple have also signed lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, which have raised questions about their use of their royal titles and patronages.
King Charles has reportedly invited Harry and Meghan to attend his coronation, which is scheduled for June 2023. However, it is unclear whether the couple will accept the invitation, given the recent developments. Harry and Meghan have not visited the UK since January 2022, when they attended the funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
