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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Jennifer Newton

William and Kate could move home again following Harry and Meghan's eviction, says expert

The Prince and Princess of Wales could be set for another home move in a royal property shake-up following Harry and Meghan's Frogmore Cottage eviction, a royal expert has claimed.

It has been confirmed that Harry and Meghan were "requested to vacate" their UK home in a move reportedly sanctioned by King Charles that reportedly left them stunned.

It is reported that the Sussexes are now arranging for the belongings that they still have at Frogmore Cottage to be sent to their home in California and that the property is now being offered to Prince Andrew.

Charles is insisting that Andrew leave his Royal Lodge mansion - but the bullish Duke of York is set on defying his brother after vowing he is "going nowhere".

William and Kate in Wales earlier this week (REX/Shutterstock)

However, if he were to move, royal expert and biographer Ingrid Seward believes it could open up an opportunity for William and Kate.

She told the Mirror: "The draconian solution proposed by the King’s advisors is that if Andrew moved into Frogmore, Royal Lodge then becomes available possibly for the Prince and Princess of Wales who are working at full tilt for the Monarchy.

"It’s royal swings and roundabouts, but King Charles has been warned he needs to make extensive savings and this is just the beginning."

Harry and Meghan are giving up Frogmore Cottage (AFP via Getty Images)

Royal Lodge would certainly be a much bigger home than five-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, where William and Kate and their children moved to in September after upping sticks from Kensington Palace.

The 30-room mansion is a Grade II-listed building that dates back to the 17th Century and was once a beloved home of the Queen Mother.

In 1931, it was gifted to George VI and the Queen Mother - the then Duke and Duchess of York - as a weekend retreat.

Prince Andrew with his brother King Charles (Getty Images)

The Queen Mother made several additions to the property and it also features a mini cottage or Wendy house called Y Bwthyn Bach, which was gifted to the late Queen - then Princess Elizabeth - in 1932.

Even after George VI's death in 1952, it was still used as a grace and favour home by the Queen Mother up until she died there in March 2002 with the late Queen by her side.

Following the Queen Mother's death, Royal Lodge was leased to Prince Andrew.

Andrew's current home Royal Lodge (Roland Hoskins/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)

Along with the main house, the lease included the Gardener's Cottage, the Chapel Lodge, six Lodge Cottages, police security accommodation and a whopping 40 hectares of land.

He was required to pay for any renovations himself, which reportedly were in the region of £7.5million.

In 2004, he then moved into Royal Lodge with his two daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and soon after so did his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Fergie, 61, married Andrew in 1986, however, things didn't work out due to their busy schedule and they split in 1991.

In an interview in 2021, Sarah explained the couple's decision for her to continue living at Royal Lodge whenever she's in the UK.

She told the Sunday Times : "I travel a lot and I’ve always been able to make wherever I am home. If I am staying in a hotel I have the same family photographs and scented candles around me.

"When I’m in the UK I’m lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn’t call it my home as that would be presumptuous," she added.

Ingrid Seward is editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and royal biographer.

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