Prince Harry, Meghan Markle House Renovation: Over $3 Million Funding Allocated to Fix Sussex Royals’ Frogmore Cottage

The British royal family’s report on their Sovereign Grant spending covering 2018-19 has been published and one specific item stood out. Reports noticed that the funding provided £2.4 million or more than $3 million to renovate the Frogmore Cottage in Windsor — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official residence.

Detailed expenditure report shows that the renovation of the cottage originally built in 1801 took up the highest amount under the “Major Projects” expenses for 2018-19. The reported amount of £2.4 million was spent on the “reconfiguration and full refurbishment of five residential units” of the royal estate to make it into one residential complex for Prince Harry and Markle to live in.

Works on the Frogmore Cottage started in November 2018, or about six months since they got married, and was completed last March. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed they were moving into their new and very own official residence in early April. About a month later, Markle gave birth to their first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, at London’s Portland Hospital.

The Sun's Arthur Edwards comments that £2.4 million is an “obscene” amount of money to be paid for a single official residence. The same article noted that the royal family may have spent much less than that if Markle and Prince Harry decided to stay in the Kensington Palace grounds.

For months now, there have been relentless rumors that Prince Harry and Markle are not in good terms with the Cambridge royals Prince William and Kate Middleton. The royal family has yet to address the rumors, but they the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently announced they will be walking away from the Royal Foundation they used to share with the Cambridge couple to set up their own charity organization. As expected, the earlier news of them leaving the Kensington Palace grounds just fueled the speculations even more.

Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the Queen, Sir Michael Stevens, revealed (via Daily Record) that Frogmore Cottage has been pegged to be renovated. Aside from Prince Harry and Markle’s decision to move to the Windsor house, Sir Stevens said it has been years since work was done on the cottage. Apart from the £2.4 million from Sovereign Grant, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly paid for “all fixtures and fittings.”