Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have been evicted from their home at the British royal family’s home in Windsor, a spokesman said Wednesday, leaving them without a British base.
The use of Frogmore Cottage was a wedding gift from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018, and was renovated at a cost of £2.4 million ($2.9 million).
It has now been offered to Prince Andrew, King Charles III’s ill-tempered half-brother, according to reports in The Sun and Daily Telegraph.
“We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their home at Frogmore Cottage,” said a spokesman for the US-based couple, without giving further details.
Harry and Meghan were reportedly ordered to vacate the property in January, just days after publishing the prince’s memoir “Spare.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Harry’s father Charles, who has long favored a lean monarchy, has been working to overhaul the family’s finances since his mother’s death in September.
The axing of Andrew’s annual grant of £250,000 per year could see him forced out of his current residence, the 30-room Royal Lodge, also in the Windsor estate, because of its high maintenance costs.
Harry and Meghan’s unofficial biographer Omid Scobie, citing a source, wrote in Yahoo News that the couple had “until early summer to vacate”.
“At first it was given a few weeks, but now at least until after the coronation” in May, Scobie wrote, adding that the couple had not yet heard whether they would be invited to Charles’ coronation.
Scobie also quoted a friend of the pair as saying, “everything feels final and like a cruel punishment”.
“It’s like (the royal family) wants to get rid of that image for good.”
Harry and Meghan are moving to California in 2020 after their dramatic royal exit.
He has since taken part in a number of projects – from an interview with Oprah Winfrey to a Netflix documentary – recounting his grievances about the experience of being a member of the royal family.
“Spare” broke sales records when it was published in January, but also saw Harry’s popularity ratings plummet on both sides of the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, Andrew was forced out of public life because of his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last year, Andrew settled a US civil case for sexual assault with accuser Virginia Giuffre.