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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s children ‘may not have a close relationship with the King’ following the couple’s eviction from Frogmore Cottage, a source has claimed.
Harry and Meghan were allegedly given ‘weeks’ to pack up their British home at Frogmore Cottage after Harry’s memoir Spare hit the shelves in January.
But in an olive branch to the couple, King Charles may offer Prince Harry and Meghan Prince Andrew‘s Buckingham Palace apartment.
It comes as a source said the couple are concerned that future visits will be ‘incredibly complicated’ if they are forced to stay outside the security perimeters of a royal estate’, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
The couple, who moved to California three years ago, are said to be concerned over how the move will impact Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet’s relationship with their grandfather.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be concerned that future visits to the UK will be ‘incredibly complicated’, a source claims
Following Harry and Meghan’s eviction from Frogmore Cottage at Windsor, it is now feared that King Charles’s relationship with his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet could be impacted
Earlier this week, journalist Omid Scobie claimed that some members of the Royal Family were ‘appalled’ by the decision to evict Harry and Meghan, with the couple also said to have felt ‘stunned’.
An insider allegedly told him: ‘It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment. It’s like [the family] want to cut them out of the picture for good.’
But the couple are not as ‘stunned’ about leaving as previous reports have suggested, believing that ‘if we need to move out, we will get ourselves out’, a source told The Times.
King Charles reportedly decided to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage due to the repeated broadsides at Queen Consort Camilla in his younger son’s memoir, Spare.
The monarch issued a notice to the Sussexes on Tuesday to vacate the the five-bedroom mansion on the Windsor Estate – a move said to be backed by his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The decision was apparently a difficult one for the King, particularly as he was keen not to add fuel to the fire of the ongoing row with Harry.
But he is understood to have reached a point where he believed Harry had ‘crossed a line’ following claims made in their Netflix series and the prince’s bombshell memoir.
Yesterday the Duke of Sussex sat down with controversial ‘toxic trauma’ expert Dr Gabor Maté for a 90-minute conversation in which he spoke about grief, healing and mental health.
Royal watchers said Harry was cautious not to attack members of the royal family during the conversation in which he made no mention of his brother, Kate or Camilla.
In the £17-per-ticket livestream event that included a free copy of his memoir, Spare, Harry discussed his drug use, his views on the war in Afghanistan and how he ‘felt different’ from family growing up.
It comes as preparations are taking place for King Charles’ Coronation in May amid speculation that Harry may not attend his father’s crowning.
But many hope relations may be thawing between the two sides after the Mail on Sunday revealed that King Charles may offer Prince Harry and Meghan Prince Andrew’s old suite in Buckingham Palace when they visit the UK.
In another royal property merry-go-round, it was also revealed that the Duke of York could get a £1.5 million windfall if he leaves Royal Lodge this year.
A Government document seen by The Mail on Sunday reveals that Prince Andrew would be entitled to a rebate from the money he spent refurbishing the 30-room Windsor property when he first moved in two decades ago.
The Duke of York – who was pictured on the Windsor estate yesterday, smiling broadly at a jogger from behind the wheel of his Range Rover– acquired the lease in August 2003, a year after the death of the Queen Mother who had lived there
He then spent more than £7.5 million on renovations. Under the terms of the lease, he is entitled to a rebate if he moves out within 25 years. It is calculated on a sliding scale, so if he leaves this year – 20 years into the agreement – he could get back £1.5 million.
The document states: ‘Should the Duke wish to terminate the lease, the property would then revert to the Crown Estate.
St James’s Palace is the oldest royal palace in London
Prince Andrew may be forced out of the Royal Lodge in Windsor and into Frogmore Cottage
Prince Andrew, pictured driving his hybrid Range Rover on The Long Walk in the Windsor estate yesterday, could receive a £1.5m rebate in cash he spent renovating his home
‘The Estate may then be required to pay him compensation in respect of the refurbishment costs incurred. The maximum compensation of just under £7 million is subject to annual reductions over the first 25 years. At the end of that period, there is nil compensation payable.’
King Charles is said to be exasperated that Andrew insists on wanting to stay at Royal Lodge, which costs an estimated £3 million a year to guard.
Plans are now under way for Andrew to be offered Frogmore Cottage when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex move out.
The Duke of York was photograph out riding a horse. Details of his lease at the Royal Lodge were made public in 2005 after Labour MP Ian Davison requested the information
A source said: ‘Royal Lodge is just not suitable for the Duke any more. He’s a single man living with his ex-wife who has a property of her own in London.
‘The scale of Royal Lodge means it requires two teams [of bodyguards] – a mobile team and a static team – and that is a considerable expense. The King is happy to provide security for his brother but a better use of resources would be to house him at Frogmore Cottage.’
The details of the lease were published in a parliamentary document in 2005 after Labour MP Ian Davidson requested the information.
The document explains how Andrew approached the Crown Estate about acquiring the leasehold to the sprawling estate – which includes a swimming pool and several cottages in the grounds for staff – after the Queen Mother’s death. The Royal Family instead suggested the commercial leasing agreement.
However the property is said to be too expensive to protect now, since the Duke lost his state-funded police detail on being forced to step back from Royal duties in 2019. He now relies on bodyguards paid for by the King.
