Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Former Frogmore Cottage Remains Vacant

King Charles III’s aspiration for Prince Andrew to move to Frogmore Cottage remains unfulfilled as the residence remains unoccupied. The former U.K. home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has not been inhabited since they officially vacated the property in the summer of 2023, according to palace officials.

Harry and Meghan moved to Montecito, California, after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. However, it wasn’t until the summer of 2023 that they officially marked Frogmore Cottage off as their U.K. residence.

With the release of the annual Sovereign Grant, it was disclosed that the Windsor, England home, which saw millions spent on renovations, remains without new tenants.

“During the year, Frogmore Cottage has remained empty,” a palace source revealed. “I don’t think, at this point, I would speculate on who will be the future occupants of the cottage.”

The same source stated, “The Sovereign Grant has been fully reimbursed for the refurbishment costs of Frogmore Cottage when it was initially provided to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”

Harry and Meghan had paid back the $3.2 million of taxpayer funds used for the renovation after the cottage was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Harry recalled in his memoir, Spare, that his grandmother referred to the home as “a bit of a shell.”

Thus, there is no additional cost to the Sovereign Grant, barring routine maintenance necessary for any property.

While no one permanently resides in the cottage, Harry’s cousins, Princess Beatrice, 35, and Princess Eugenie, 34, occasionally stay at the residence when they are in Windsor.

“Royal residences are like a hotel. Members of the family can check in and out as they please,” the source added. “Nobody owns the property.”

The source explained, “If it’s free at any given time, the royal makes a request through the Crown Estate and is granted access. There is a pecking order, of course, and the more senior royals get priority.”

Princess Beatrice, her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, their daughter Sienna, and Beatrice’s stepson Christopher ‘Wolfie’ Woolf, split their time between the Cotswolds and London, England. Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their two sons, August and Ernest, primarily reside in Portugal.

Harry and Meghan officially moved out of Frogmore Cottage on June 29, 2023, which Harry later listed as the start of his official U.S. residency. That same day, palace courtier Sir Michael Stevens confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had vacated the home.

The January 2023 release of Harry’s memoir, Spare—and its explosive revelations—reportedly motivated King Charles to expedite their departure.

Meghan described the surreal experience of packing up their things in a 2022 interview with The Cut. “You go back, and you open drawers, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is what I was writing in my journal there?’ And here’s all my socks from this time?”