Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘relieved and pleased’ to pay off the £2.4million used to renovate Frogmore Cottage, a source tells Vanity Fair
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle repaid money for Frogmore Cottage renovation
- Couple paid back the £2.4million after they secured the £75million Netflix deal
- They are ‘relieved and pleased’ to pay money back, a source has claimed
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘relieved and pleased’ to pay off the Frogmore Cottage renovations, a source has claimed.
On Monday it was revealed that the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 39 – who had been paying back the cash in monthly instalments – announced that they had totally refunded the Sovereign Grant for the redevelopment of five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage on the Queen’s Berkshire estate.
‘They are ‘very relieved and very pleased’ to have been able to pay off the debt so quickly,’ a source close to the couple told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl. ‘This has been a pro-active step and something they wanted to do from the outset.
‘There was no requirement [from the Queen] for them to pay the money back but it was important to them that they did, and after the Netflix deal they were in a position to do so. I think this is quite a significant moment for them.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘relieved and pleased’ to pay off the Frogmore Cottage renovations, a source has claimed. Pictured, attending the Commonwealth Day Service 2020 on March 9, 2020 in London
Prince Charles has cut off his private funding support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they secured a £75million Netflix deal and paid back £2.4million for Frogmore Cottage (pictured)
The source added: ‘They’re now in their forever home, it’s the start of their new life and they’re very much looking forward to everything that’s about to come.’
It comes after sources close to the couple claimed that they would no longer be receiving handouts from Prince Charles as they sought to establish ‘financial independence’.
It was revealed in the wake of the couple’s decision to step back from their royal roles and to live in America that the Prince of Wales would make a private financial contribution to help them during their first year away.
It is believed the total amount was around £1million. A source told The Telegraph: ‘They are not receiving support in any way shape or form from any external person other than themselves.’
Prince Charles has cut off his private funding support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they secured a £75million Netflix deal and paid back £2.4million for Frogmore Cottage. Pictured, attending the ‘Our Planet’ global premiere at Natural History Museum on April 4, 2019 in London
Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor. The UK home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex
However, a source told the Mail that the move, which comes after it was revealed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had secured a lucrative deal to produce shows for streaming giant Netflix, said to be worth in the region of $100million (£75million), would not make them immune to scrutiny.
The source said: ‘This has come as something of a surprise,’ they admitted, ‘and it can only be assumed this has something to do with the Netflix deal. Maybe it now means he can afford to pay the money back in full at once or maybe he has been irritated by the criticism that the deal has led to of his finances. No one really knows.
‘But if he thinks that it will make him immune from public and media scrutiny, he is misguided.
‘This new, highly visible media role that he is seeking in the US makes him more of a public figure than ever.’
The £2.4m in public money that was used to convert Frogmore from what had been five small staff cottages into a larger country home for the couple has been a particular bone of contention since they quit as working royals in January.