The late Queen Elizabeth II “had a plan” to evict Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from their Frogmore Cottage home.
It was claimed by royal expert Robert Hardman that the Queen had intended for Prince Andrew to have downsized his Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate and move to Frogmore Cottage. The property was in use by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time though the late monarch’s plan to evict the pair has since been detailed.
Royal expert Hardman suggested the plan would have gone ahead had the Queen “lived another year”. Her Majesty died on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96.
The bombshell claim comes in Robert Hardman’s new book
The Queen had allegedly seen the Sussexes’ time in Frogmore Cottage as “unsustainable” and had put plans in place to have them, and Prince Andrew, moved into different properties. A former advisor to the Queen said: “It was her plan to move him out, to end the lease for the Sussexes at Frogmore Cottage and to move Andrew in there. It was mainly a money thing, as she could see it was becoming unsustainable.”
Prince Harry and Meghan had quit life as working royals in 2020 and were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage in March 2023. By June 2023 they had vacated the home. The pair had paid an eye-watering £2.4million refurbishment plan on the rental property back in 2019.
Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the Privy Purse, said of their departure at the time: “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.”
Prince Andrew has been asked to pay the Royal Lodge bill himself (
Image:
PA)
Hardman, whose biography extract was published in the Daily Mail, also suggested the Frogmore Cottage move would have been trouble for Prince Andrew, who allegedly told King Charles III he had no right to move him from the Royal Lodge. An insider explained: “If he can find the money, then that is up to him, but if not, he will find that the King does not have unlimited patience.”
The Duke of York has consistently claimed he has the money to pay for his Royal Lodge and an insider suggested the “ring of steel” Windsor Castle provides is paramount to his reason for wanting to stay. Sources close to the Duke of York argued he has a long-term lease on the late Queen Mother’s home in Windsor Great Park.
But the King has told Prince Andrew he must cough up the upkeep himself on the vast property as well as his security detail. Hardman suggests these costs include the upkeep and protection of several valuable and historical works of art as well as pieces of furniture from the Royal Collection.
