Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving paparazzi in New York late on May 16, 2023, a spokesperson for the couple said May 17
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • The keeper of the Privy Purse announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have vacated Frogmore Cottage
  • The Sussexes paid for the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant for Frogmore Cottage's renovation
  • Future occupancy will be determined and announced in next year's report

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's tenancy of Frogmore Cottage is officially over.

A senior palace official announced Thursday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated their U.K. residence, losing their last remaining foothold in his home country, Sky News reported.

"We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated Frogmore Cottage," Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the Privy Purse, said at the annual Sovereign Grant account briefing on royal finances. "We will not be going into any detail on those arrangements here."

Stevens continued, "Safe to say that, as has previously been stated, the duke and duchess have paid for the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant in relation to the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, thus leaving the Crown with a greatly enhanced asset."

It is unclear who will take over the property. Reports have suggested that King Charles III asked his younger brother Prince Andrew to move out of Royal Lodge and to instead live in Frogmore Cottage.

Addressing the rumor, Stevens said during the briefing, "We will not be discussing any details of the duke's private lease arrangements here today."

Another palace official said that there was nothing to add as to who could live in the now vacated property, according to Sky News.

"Any future occupancy will be determined and communicated in next year's report," the official, who was not named, said.

Markle and Prince Harry began living in Frogmore Cottage in April 2019, nearly one year after their royal wedding. The home underwent extensive renovations as they prepared to welcome their son Archie, now 4.

In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California, where they bought a mansion in Montecito and welcomed daughter Lilibet, 2. By the end of the year, the couple had repaid the estimated $3.1 million for Frogmore Cottage's renovations to the Sovereign Grant.

Earlier this year, several outlets reported that King Charles asked his younger son and his daughter-in-law to vacate the property.

British journalist and royal author Tom Bower blamed the alleged decision on Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," and interviews on "60 Minutes" and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

"Harry and Meghan provoked him [King Charles] with Harry's disgraceful book and the interviews he gave," Bower told Page Six.

"I mean what did he expect?" the former BBC journalist and television producer added. "Harry wanted the royal family to come on bended knee begging for forgiveness, and he's completely crossed the spectrum, he's in the mad wilderness of deranged victimhood."

An unnamed source told Us Weekly in March that King Charles' request came as "a shock" to Prince Harry and Markle.

"Charles could just as easily have kept it open for them if he'd wanted to, but it seems clear he doesn't," the insider claimed.

The source claimed that Prince Harry's father believed it was a "practical" decision since "the Sussexes are so rarely in the home and it needs to be occupied and maintained by a full-time resident."

Prince Harry photographed with his wife Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland
AFP