There was an intriguing story about Frogmore Cottage - which is the former home of the Sussexes - recently.
I remember breaking the exclusive story that the late Queen Elizabeth had given the use of the house to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as a wedding present.
Everyone had expected the Sussexes to move into Kensington Palace (a huge building which is split into apartments) as a married couple, upgrading from Harry’s bachelor pad, the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage in the grounds.
But, as I discovered, things had got so bad between Prince William and Harry, neither brother wanted to live next door to each other.
So Frogmore Cottage, which had previously been split into five staff apartments, had £2.4 million spent on it to convert it back to a single home in 2019.
Now, it’s been reported that three years after the Sussexes vacated the property, any trace of them is to be wiped!
The Crown Estate, who own the property on behalf of the monarch, are looking at plans to reverse the revamp and subdivide the house to let it to royal staff.
Harry and Meghan wanted to keep it as their UK home, but were evicted by the King in 2023, just weeks after the publication of Harry’s vitriolic, tell-all book Spare.
King Charles had wanted his brother Andrew to move there, but he opted instead for Sandringham.
I thought it was very strange that having spent all that money renovating Frogmore (which Harry pointedly paid back after he quit as a working royal) the Crown Estate would potentially rip it all out.
'The very memory of them, and their marital home, is being removed'
I can understand that it’s a bit tricky (and expensive) to let as one property as it’s within the Windsor security cordon, but surely that’s the purpose of advanced security vetting.
What’s even more bizarre is that I’m told Harry and Meghan are really annoyed about it! They have a lovely home in California - why do they care what happens with Frogmore?
But it’s the symbolism, isn't it?
The fact that not just them but even the very memory of them, and their marital home, is being removed.
First of all they were evicted (and Harry really wanted to keep it as his UK base). Now they are being erased.
Sure, it can be dressed up as ‘repurposing’ for staff accommodation. But it’s a virtual expunging from royal history. As if the ‘Harry and Meghan era’ never existed.
And that’s got to hurt.
This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.
