Prince Harry has long believed that Frogmore Cottage, a royal residence gifted to him and Meghan Markle, would remain his home in the United Kingdom indefinitely. This belief was shattered in 2023 when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were informed of their eviction from the property, a move that caught them by surprise and left them without a British base.
Frogmore Cottage, situated on the Windsor Estate, had been the couple’s main residence before they decided to leave their roles as senior members of the Royal Family and move to North America. Despite his move, Harry was under the impression that the cottage would serve as his home in the United Kingdom whenever they decided to visit.
Royal expert Tom Quinn said Mirror: “Harry and Meghan imagined that Frogmore would always be there for them, even if they returned to the UK for just a few weeks a year and even if they were no longer working as royals. “That assumption says a lot about how disconnected King Charles and his son had become.”
The expert explained: “At the time, few people realized what a slap in the face Harry’s eviction from Frogmore was: it was the final straw. Harry was absolutely furious and crying at being evicted from Frogmore; He felt that his father had no right to do so and that he was purely vindictive.
“Harry could not see that choosing to stop being a royal would inevitably mean being deprived of his royal residence. “Harry took it as a cruel rejection, a painful reminder of everything he felt when his father fought with his mother during his long and painful divorce,” he noted.
The eviction therefore marked a significant and unexpected change in their arrangements, highlighting the current complexities of their relationship with the rest of the Royal Family. The eviction from Frogmore Cottage did not just represent the loss of a physical residence; it symbolically underlined the widening gap between Prince Harry and the institutional structure of the British monarchy.
This residence was completely renovated in 2019 to suit the couple’s needs and the Royal Family reportedly spent several million pounds on the renovations. These renovations were specifically tailored to their tastes and lifestyles, indicating a long-term commitment to the property, which made the eviction even more surprising.
The reasons for the eviction have been the subject of much speculation. Some commentators suggest it reflects an ongoing restructuring within the Royal Family, possibly linked to financial prudence or changing dynamics following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Others see it as a direct response to the increasingly independent and sometimes controversial path that Harry and Meghan have charted, which includes speaking openly about their struggles within the royal set-up and their criticisms of how the institution operates.
