Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be "stunned" they’ve been evicted by King Charles III from their royal home in the U.K., which is now "needed" for "someone else" — Prince Andrew.
The claim was made Wednesday by "Finding Freedom" author Omid Scobie, who said the news has left "at least two members of the royal family appalled."
"Harry and Meghan have until early summer to vacate," a source told Scobie in his report for Yahoo! News. "Initially, they were given just weeks, but now they have at least until after the coronation."
A spokesperson for the couple's Archewell Foundation told Fox News Digital, "We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage."
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
According to Scobie, the couple was given the royal boot by the king, who was "spitting mad" after Harry’s explosive memoir "Spare" hit bookshelves in January. It is believed the decision was made "shortly after" the book was published. Communication between Harry and his family has also reached "an all-time low," Scobie wrote.
"It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment," a friend of the couple told the outlet. "It’s like [the family] wants to cut them out of the picture for good."
The British prince and the former American actress have aired their grievances against the monarchy since they stepped down. Harry has previously spoken about his estrangement from his father and older brother Prince William since he departed from the U.K.
In a six-part Netflix docuseries released in December, Harry spoke scathingly about how the royal press team worked and spoke about how his relationship with William, 40, and the rest of the royal household broke down. Markle, 41, described wanting to end her life as she struggled to cope with toxic U.K. press coverage. Then, in his memoir, Harry further exposed private emotional turmoil and bitter family resentments.
The estate, which is a five-minute walk from Windsor Castle, is described as the Sussex’s "only sufficiently secure refuge in the country." The pair lost access to police protection in the country after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020. The property, which is covered by the Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit, was a personal haven for the family when they traveled to the U.K.
The outlet noted that the Sussexes travel with their private security team. However, royal protection officers provide another level of security that’s necessary for the royal family, including access to "essential intelligence information."
Queen Elizabeth II gave the property to the couple as a wedding gift in 2018. However, the home required renovations, which resulted in the Sussexes living there for only several months before they stepped down as senior royals.
Royal accounts for 2019 showed that $3.2 million was spent renovating the house, which involved structural work, rewiring and new flooring. The couple agreed to pay back the money as part of their royal exit. In September 2020, a spokesperson for the couple announced that Harry repaid the British taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate the home.
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A spokesman for the couple noted that Harry had made a contribution to the Sovereign Grant, the public money that goes to the royal family. He said the contribution "fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage." At the time, it was announced that Frogmore Cottage would still be the home of the Sussexes when they visit the U.K.
It’s unclear whether the Sussexes will travel to the U.K. from their California home in May. The king and his wife Camilla, queen consort, are being crowned May 6 at London’s Westminster Abbey. According to the outlet, invitations are being sent to 2,000 guests next week. Scobie also share that "no alternative accommodation has been offered" since the eviction notice.
"But, despite the risks and the prospect of grandchildren Archie and Lilibet not being able to visit in the future, King Charles is sticking firm to his eviction," Scobie wrote. "The monarch, I’m told, has focused his priorities elsewhere."
"I think the king is fed up with the entire situation," a royal source told Scobie.
According to the outlet, it was Charles who personally offered Frogmore to the disgraced Duke of York. It is also believed that the king is covering the cost of private security for his younger brother, which is estimated to be close to nearly $4 million a year.
William reportedly considered the seven-bedroom home and "had questions." However, the Prince of Wales ultimately chose Adelaide Cottage, located nearby, for his wife and three children.
A source recently told The Telegraph that the king, 74, will not leave his younger sibling, 63, "homeless or penniless," despite forcing the Duke of York out of Royal Lodge, the queen mother’s former home.
According to the outlet, Andrew’s annual allowance of nearly $300,000 is reportedly being cut in April, which friends claimed will make it difficult for the duke to maintain the 98-acre Windsor property. His main source of income is his Navy pension and a "substantial inheritance" from his late parents.
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid his controversial connection to late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles. Before her death in 2022, the queen also removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages, and barred him from using the title "his royal highness" in official settings.
The council in the northern city of York voted unanimously to withdraw the prince’s "freedom of the city." The honor was awarded to Andrew in 1987 after the queen made him the Duke of York. He is the first person to be stripped of the status, an honor that dates back to medieval times. Local leaders have since argued that Andrew should also lose the title of Duke of York. A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment at the time.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who reached a settlement with accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Andrew strenuously denied Giuffre’s allegations after she sued him, accusing the British royal of sexually abusing her while she traveled with Epstein in 2001 when she was 17.
Giuffre, 39, reached the settlement with Andrew after the judge rejected the prince’s bid to win early dismissal of the lawsuit.
The loss of what was once considered a "forever home" for the Sussexes is a significant blow for the couple. Previously, Harry launched a legal challenge to the U.K. government’s refusal to let him personally pay for police protection when he visits Britain. In 2022, lawyers for Harry told a court hearing he’s unwilling to bring his children to his homeland because it is not safe.
Harry wants to be able to pay for the protection, saying his private security team in the U.S. doesn’t have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to U.K. intelligence information.
During a hearing at the High Court in London, Harry’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, said the prince "does not feel safe when he is in the U.K. given the security arrangements applied to him."
"It goes without saying that he does want to come back to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart," she said. "Most of all, this is and always will be, his home."
A lawyer representing the British government, Robert Palmer, called Harry’s claim "unarguable and unmeritorious."
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Palmer said in a written submission that Harry’s offer to pay for police security was irrelevant because "personal protective security by the police is not available on a privately financed basis."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex live in the coastal city of Montecito with their two young children.
