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Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leave after attending the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London, Britain, June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool
(CNN) — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, the couple’s official UK residence, their spokesperson told CNN Wednesday.
“We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage,” the spokesperson said.
The statement followed a report in British newspaper The Sun that claimed the pair were being evicted from the property, which is owned by the Crown Estate, and that it had since been offered to Prince Andrew, one of King Charles III’s brothers.
Buckingham Palace said Wednesday it would be offering no comment. A royal source told CNN that any such discussions would be a private family matter.
Prince Harry and Meghan now reside in the United States but had retained the early 19th-century property as their UK base. Gifted to the Sussexes by the late Queen Elizabeth II, the cottage is nestled in a corner of the Windsor estate, west of London.
They refurbished the property and moved in shortly before the arrival of their son Archie in May 2019. However, the renovation sparked controversy after the couple stepped back from public life and it emerged £2.4 million (about $3 million) of British taxpayers’ money had been used on the cottage’s refurbishments. They have since paid back the public money following their relocation to California.
Works including the removal of a chimney, re-finishing the roof, new staircases, fireplace installations and a new “floating” wooden floor were detailed in planning application documents to the local council. The cost of all fittings, fixtures and furnishings were paid for privately by the duke and duchess.
The Sussexes stayed at the property when they returned to the UK last year, including when they attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations during the summer.
Prince Andrew currently resides nearby at the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate. The Duke of York also stepped back from royal duties in 2019 after a disastrous interview about his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein engulfed the family in an unprecedented crisis.
According to The Sun, the couple were reportedly asked to leave the property days after the release of Harry’s memoir “Spare” in January.
The 38-year-old royal held almost nothing back as he dismantled the public’s perception of him being the fun-loving, care-free party prince, and delved into the devastating impact of his mother’s death, his experimentation with drugs as a method of coping with grief, and his struggles at finding love.
Buckingham Palace repeatedly declined to comment on the memoir.
The autobiography followed a six-part Netflix documentary the couple released last year and an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. They alleged there were “concerns” in the royal family about Archie’s skin color, detailed feelings of being “trapped” and said Meghan had suicidal thoughts during her first pregnancy.
The-CNN-Wire
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