King Charles IIIthe decision of ask the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to ‘leave’ their residence in the UK can only be seen as a reaction to the release of Prince Harrysaid a royal expert.
A representative of the Sussexes confirmed on Wednesday evening (March 1) that Harry and Meghan Markle had been asked to leave Frogmore Cottagewhich was given to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II after their wedding in 2018.
It has been reported that the King instead offered the keys to the 10-bedroom property to the disgraced Duke of York, a move which sources say left the Sussexes ‘stunned’.
A royal expert said The Independent that it’s ‘impossible to believe it isn’t’ the monarch reacts to his youngest son’s controversial memoir Sparereleased in January.
RS Locke, a freelance writer and royal commentator, pointed to reports that Harry and Meghan were asked to leave Frogmore Cottage “within days of the book’s release”.
She said that in her opinion: ‘The eviction of the Sussex family from Frogmore Cottage is clearly punitive and King Charles wanted the couple and the public to know that.’
Nigel Cawthorne, author of the 2020 book Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palaceadded that the King’s decision signals that he “clearly does not want Harry and Meghan to return to this country”.
The cottage has royal ties dating back to the 17th century (Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
(PA Archive)
He said The Independent: “Charles, William and Camilla can hardly [have] been happy with the collage they got Spare. Harry threatens another chapter or two and has let it be known that if needed he still has 400 pages in his back pocket.
Royal commentator and celebrity manager Mayah Riaz agreed that the decision to “kick out” Harry and Meghan from Frogmore “shows King Charles is making a clean break” with the couple. She added that, given the timing of the news, “one can only assume that it is [Charles’] respond to Sparewithout giving a verbal response to the public”.
Harry, Meghan and Andrew are no longer working members of the royal family. The Sussexes resigned in 2020 in order to become financially independent and move to the United States, while Andrew resigned in 2019 over ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew has been accused of sexually abusing Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre when she was underage and has vehemently denied all the allegations. He reached a multi-million pound settlement with Giuffre last year to prevent the case from going to civil trial.
The duke is said to be ‘resisting’ a move to Frogmore Cottagebecause it would mean leaving his current residence at the Royal Lodge, where he has lived for almost 20 years.
Cawthorne said: “For Andrew to leave Royal Lodge and move to Frogmore Cottage is a demotion.
“He can, of course, sink down and refuse to budge. Then Charles will have to send the ushers,” he speculated.
Riaz added that previous reports suggested Andrew had tried to make his ‘comeback’ to public life, but leaving Royal Lodge would show ‘it is no longer possible for him’.
She also suggested that, since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke is now “unable to secure the privileges of his brother’s favorite child, the King”.
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.