King Charles III has reportedly offered the keys to Frogmore Cottage, which previously belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to the Duke of York.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to making arrangements for their remaining belongings to be shipped to their home in California after being “evicted” from the Windsor property.
Frogmore Cottage, a 10-bedroom house in Home Park, was the couple’s first marital home after they wed in 2018, gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
They currently reside in the US with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, but had maintained the cottage as their UK residence.
It has now been reported that the King began the process of evicting Harry and Meghan from the property in the days following the release of the duke’s memoir, Spare.
According to The Sun, the monarch has instead offered the property to the disgraced Prince Andrew, who faces having to move out of his current residences, the Royal Lodge.
However, the newspaper quoted a source as saying that Andrew is “resisting” being removed from the Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park that he has occupied since 2003.
The eviction of the Sussexes from their UK residence “surely spells the end of Harry and Meghan’s time in the UK”, the source said.
It is not known whether the decision will affect the couple’s chances of being invited to the King’s coronation this spring.
It comes after Harry laid bare his grievances with the royal family in his memoir, which was released in early January. Among the revelations in the book, he alleged that his brother, the Prince of Wales, physically attacked him while Charles pleaded with them not to “make my final years a misery” with their feud.
The couple also made a number of allegations against Buckingham Palace, primarily around the “leaking” and “planting” of negative stories about Meghan to the press, in their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.
Harry is understood to be seeking an apology from both the King and Prince William before he makes any commitment to attend the coronation.
The duke said earlier this year that “the ball is in their court”, but that “the door is always open” for reconciliation”.
However, the royals are not expected to concede to Harry’s wishes, as a source said they do not believe that “an apology is owed”.
An invitation to the ceremony in May will likely be extended to the couple, but the source added: “I don’t think it will be wrapped in an apologetic bow. It will be, ‘Here is an invitation. Let us know if you are coming.’”
The Independent has contacted Harry and Meghan’s representatives and Buckingham Palace for comment.
