While he came to attend the coronation of his father, King Charles III, on Saturday 6 May, Prince Harry has also finished with his home at Frogmore Cottage, from which he and Meghan Markle were evicted in March.
He stayed for just over 24 hours and yet his return to England was a remarkable one. Prince Harry made a quick trip to London to attend the coronation of his father, King Charles III, on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey. While he slipped away just after the historic ceremony to join his wife, Meghan Markle, who remained in California with their two children, Archie, whose birthday it was, and Lilibet, the Duke of Sussex took the opportunity to settle some important details.
These included Frogmore Cottage. In March, it was revealed that a request had been made to the couple, now living in California, to move their belongings out of the house, which is close to Windsor Castle. While the house was given to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by Queen Elizabeth II, it is actually owned by the royal family. The Sussex spokesman had said that a “request” had been made for the Sussexes to relinquish the property. Viewpoint magazine, published on Tuesday 9 May, revealed that the youngest child of Charles III slept there one last time before the coronation, before handing over the keys to Prince Andrew.
The Royal Family’s moves
The reason the King’s brother was given the keys to Frogmore Cottage is because he too has been asked to move out. Having become a ‘pariah’ since the accusations against him following the Epstein affair, he was offered Frogmore Cottage in Sussex in exchange for his much larger home at Royal Lodge. A decision he was not at all happy with, but which he obviously complied with. In handing over the keys, Prince Harry also left his home in the UK. While this does not necessarily mean that he will never set foot on British soil again, it does show that neither he nor his wife plan to visit regularly. This is one of the reasons why Charles III decided to ask them to move. So as not to leave the house empty most of the year. “Charles is keeping his promise to streamline the monarchy by reducing expenses,” Christopher Andersen commented in March on the American television channel Fox News Digital.
Photo credits: James Veysey//SIPA