Before being banished from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles III, the Sussexes always thought the house would always belong to them.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given Frogmore Cottage by the late Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding gift in 2018. However, after stepping down as working members of the royal family and moving to the US, the couple were asked to hand over Frogmore Cottage.
According to royal writer Tom Quinn, Harry was shocked by his father’s decision. “Harry and Meghan thought Frogmore Cottage would always be their home when they returned to the UK, even when they were no longer working royals,” Tom Quinn told the Mirror . “This confirms that King Charles III and his youngest son rarely communicate with each other,” the writer added.
Last week, newly released papers from Harry confirmed he had renounced his British residency and declared the US as his new country of residence. The move was made on June 29, 2023 – just a day after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex officially moved out of Frogmore Cottage, leaving them without a home in the UK.
According to Quinn, this is a sign that King Charles III’s decision deeply hurt Harry. “Few people understood at the time how much being expelled from Frogmore Cottage affected Harry – it was the last straw. Harry was extremely angry and even cried because he was expelled from Frogmore. He felt that his father had no right to do that and that it was purely revenge,” said the author of many books about royals.
“Harry couldn’t understand that choosing not to work for the royal family would inevitably mean being kicked out of the royal estate. Harry just saw it as cruel treatment, a painful reminder of everything he had ever felt about what his late mother had endured during the long divorce battle with his father. Whatever Charles did, Harry felt was unfair. After all, Harry still thought he deserved everything he wanted, whether it was security or a luxury home in England. To many, Harry was just a poor rich boy who behaved like a spoiled brat. But Harry forever saw himself as the victim,” Quinn said.
King Charles III began the process of evict his youngest son’s family from the lavish five-bedroom estate in January 2023, less than 24 hours after Harry’s shocking memoir Spare hit the shelves. In the book, Harry repeatedly “badmouths” his father, stepmother, brother, and sister-in-law, describing himself and his wife as being treated unfairly and pitifully.
After being evicted from Frogmore, Harry and Meghan are reportedly trying to get back nearly $3 million in renovations. With no official residence in the UK, they now have to stay with friends or rent hotels whenever they visit the foggy country.