In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the British Royal Family and moved into an £11 million mansion in Montecito, California. They were assured that they would still be able to use Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, which they had called home. However, that all changed in 2023 when the couple were asked to pack up and leave Frogmore Cottage permanently.
The forced move from their Windsor Castle home is seen as a turning point in Harry and Meghan’s royal lives. The decision was made by King Charles just days after the publication of Harry’s memoir “Spare.” The book has caused a rift between Harry and some members of his family, including him and his brother, Prince William, no longer speaking to each other.
Although the final decision was up to King Charles, he was reportedly advised to do so by someone close to him. According to Omid Scobie’s royal biography “Endgame,” it was Princess Anne who pushed for the decision. While the king was said to be “cautious” about banishing the couple, Princess Anne is said to have convinced her brother. Anne was “at the forefront of the group advocating the hard-line approach” the palace took, Scobie writes.
Frogmore Cottage is said to have been empty since the couple packed up and left last summer. The house was originally a wedding gift from the late Queen Elizabeth II to Harry and Meghan. Since the end of Frogmore Cottage, Prince Harry has only returned to the UK a handful of times, choosing to stay in hotels rather than any royal residence. Meghan Markle and her two children, Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3, have not been back to the UK since 2022.
Despite rumours that they have been invited to spend Christmas in England by Earl Charles Spencer, Harry’s uncle and the late Princess Diana’s brother, the couple are believed to be staying in California for the holiday. This will be the sixth Christmas Harry has not spent with the royal family at Sandringham.