Given that the British royal family has access to so many residences, including castles and country homes, it seems surprising that anyone would need to be evicted from one. But, according to a new book, King Charles evicted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from their U.K. home using an "eviction notice" nailed to the door. The couple have since evacuated the property, after publicly confirming that they were, in fact, asked to leave.
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After they got married in May 2018, Queen Elizabeth II offered Frogmore Cottage to Harry and Markle for their home. The royal residence is in Windsor, England about 25 miles outside of London. As reported by Us Weekly, the book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival by Omid Scobie claims that Charles had an "eviction notice" nailed to the door of Frogmore Cottage following the release of Harry's memoir, Spare, which was published in January 2023. The book also claims that Charles' sister, Princess Anne, was “at the forefront of the supporters of the firm approach" to evicting Harry and Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had already moved to the U.S. long before this turn of events after they stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020. But, they still occupied Frogmore during their visits to the U.K. Scobie claimed that being evicted from the premises was a "final blow" for Harry and Markle.
Entertainment Tonight reported in March that Harry and Markle had been asked to leave Frogmore. A spokesperson for the couple said, "We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage." ET also reported that Charles was behind the decision. Buckingham Palace did not comment.
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A source told ET, "Since Harry's book was released, relationships between Harry and Meghan and the family have never been worse. Charles is extremely disappointed in what was shared in the book. Harry was disrespectful to Camilla in the book and you can’t expect to act that way without consequences." In Spare, Harry wrote extensively about his experience in the royal family, including claiming that some members, including Queen Camilla, worked with the media to plant stories about each other.
According to Scobie's book (via the New York Post), after being evicted, Harry called Charles about the decision and said, "You don’t want to see your grandchildren anymore?” referring to his and Markle's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Charles reportedly told Harry that his family will always have "somewhere" to stay when they visit England. As reported by Sky News, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Markle and Harry vacated Frogmore Cottage in June.
After evicting Harry and Markle, Charles reportedly offered Frogmore to Prince Andrew, according to Endgame. Andrew has lived in the property known as the Royal Lodge for 20 years, but after stepping down as a working member of the royal family in 2019, there were concerns about him being able to afford to stay in the larger home, because he no longer was making money. Andrew's retirement came after he was linked to convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein and accused of sexual abuse, which he denied. The Sun reported in March that Andrew did not want to move to Frogmore and also that Charles had planned to cut some of the funding that his younger brother was receiving.
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