Frogmore Cottage sits empty as Prince Andrew refuses to downsize into Harry, Meghan’s old home amid $2.8M revamp
Frogmore Cottage — the property formerly belonging to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — continues to sit empty more than a year after the pair were forced to hand over the keys.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex vacated the plush five-bedroom property in June 2023, and the home has seen no new tenants since, the annual Sovereign Grant reveals.
“During the year, Frogmore Cottage has remained empty. I don’t think, at this point, I would speculate on who will be the future occupants of the cottage,” a palace official told the Daily Mail.
The property sits vacant because King Charles’ scandal-scarred brother Prince Andrew refuses to move into the residence, which is considerably smaller than his current abode.
The Duke of York, 64, has lived at the $38 million Royal Lodge, located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, since 2004 after he signed a 75-year lease agreement the year prior.
The disgraced scion of the late Queen Elizabeth, who was named in January’s Jeffrey Epstein document dump, has been on the brink of eviction from the plush royal digs ever since his friendship with the late pedophile financier came to light in 2019.
He has reportedly been neglecting payments to maintain the Grade II listed property — which requires an annual $503,000 for upkeep.
The Royal Lodge previously belonged to the Queen Mother until she died in 2002. Andrew shares the 31-room mansion in Windsor with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
He was offered the option to move into Frogmore Cottage while he has no apparent source of income, but he declined.
Prior to Charles, 75, offering the pad to Andrew, Harry and Meghan were gifted the home’s lease by Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present in 2018.
The Sussexes soon sparked fury by spending £2.8 million ($3.62 million) of taxpayers’ money to renovate the property, but ended up footing the bill themselves following public backlash.
After vacating the property, the Sussexes were reported to try to recoup the $2.8 million they spent on revamping it.
“The Sovereign Grant has been fully reimbursed for the refurbishment costs of Frogmore Cottage when it was initially provided to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and, therefore, there is no cost to the Sovereign Grant other than some routine maintenance, but it would be required for any of the buildings,” an insider told the Daily Mail.
The grant pays for the salaries of staff, upkeep of palaces and official royal duties.
Last summer, the couple were asked to hand over the keys to the cottage — a royal residence they thought would “always be there for them.”
Charles kickstarted the eviction process from the Grade II Crown Estate property in January 2023 — just one day after Harry’s bombshell memoir “Spare” hit the shelves.
After being evicted from Frogmore Cottage in June 2023, Harry and Meghan have not had a permanent place to stay on his home soil.
The pair currently reside in their $14 million Montecito, Calif., mansion with son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet.
