The Power Behind the Throne: A 'Key Royal' Persuaded King Charles to Boot Prince Harry and Meghan Markle From Frogmore Cottage
King Charles III evicted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from Frogmore Cottage in early 2023, and he may have had some "persuasion" from a close family member in the decision.
In his new book, Endgame, Sussex biographer Omid Scobie revealed that Princess Anne was in the King's ear when it came to booting the Montecito twosome.
After he released his bombshell memoir, Spare, in January, the monarch was "cautious" about how any member of the monarchy approached anything to do with Harry and Meghan. He ordered complete and total "dignified silence" about either of the royal rebels, especially when reporters asked senior royals questions about the book on engagements. But behind the scenes, Anne and Prince Edward, both of whom were asked to become full-time working royals when Charles became sovereign, were adamant that some kind of response was needed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had not resided in the cottage since they left the monarchy in early 2020, and therefore, Anne suggested that a full eviction would be in line with previous developments. In March, a spokesperson for the Sussex couple stated that Harry and Meghan had been "requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage." This left the pair without an official royal home in the United Kingdom, and although many analyze the move as a type of retaliation, the royals could easily fall back on how they were just following the wishes of the California transplants.
Although the duo had not stayed in the stately home for years, sources later claimed that losing the property was something of a blow for them.
"Not having anywhere isn’t overly helpful. There are friends and hotels, but I know they would like to have somewhere," a Sussex source told an outlet in September. "Meghan seems to have decided that coming back [to the U.K.] more is not what she wants to do, but Harry would like to."
"Having a base in his home country, despite everything that has happened, is appealing," the source shared. "There is work to be done here in terms of the charities, and there would be opportunities in the future where he’ll want to be here a bit more."
"If they could have kept Frogmore, they would have done — it was the perfect setup for them. When he last stayed there, he did a whole load of clearing out, and he was sanguine about it but pretty sad," they added.
Anne, Princess Royal, has continued her stance as a hardworking royal that she has held for decades once her brother came to the throne in September 2022. Her outspoken and blunt advice also seems to be set to continue, especially when it comes to how to handle sensitive situations — like Harry and Meghan.
GBN reported on Endgame's revelations.