Meghan and Harry’s ‘challenging’ financial position as royal homes scrutinised
The Royal Family’s property arrangements are under review this summer, which has caused considerable controversy.

This summer the Royal Family will face an audit that will examine its current properties and housing arrangements that allow members of The Firm to lease them at below commercial rates. With Harry and Meghan’s old home at Frogmore Cottage previously causing controversy, the Royal Family could once again come under fire.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were gifted Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate after their marriage in 2018. However, after moving to America in 2020, there was a stark public outcry over the taxpayer money that had been used to renovate the property that would no longer be used.

The property had a whopping £2.4million spent on renovations. With the audit just around the corner, sources close to Meghan and Harry have broken their silence on whether the Royal Family should have their finances and properties scrutinised.

Also sharing that “in some respects, it is undoubtedly more challenging” for the couple since walking away from the institution, they told the Mirror: “[The couple] no longer have a Sovereign Grant to support them, nor access to multiple homes maintained at public expense, whether through rent-free arrangements or nominal rents.

“But what they do have is an independent and entirely self-funded life – one that nobody else has to pay for and nobody else needs to worry about funding…unlike the Royal Family.

“Is it right that they, that working members of the Royal Family should have their finances scrutinised, absolutely. They should be treated the same as any other public institution or body.”

Amid the uproar surrounding Frogmore Cottage, Meghan and Harry paid back the £2.4million spent on the property and paid market rent. By 2023, a spokesperson from the Palace confirmed that the couple had “fulfilled their financial obligations in relation to the property”.

While there was speculation that the Sussexes had been forced into paying the money back, a source has claimed that they had already started budgeting the repayment before they were formally asked to do so.

The insider said: “Harry and Meghan always believed that repaying the money for Frogmore was the right thing to do. Many people have suggested they had to be pressured into it, but the reality is that they had already factored repayment into their plans when they decided to step away from the institution.”

Other scandals surrounding royal properties include former prince Andrew. Reportedly refusing to downsize into Frogmore Cottage when it became free, it has emerged that the disgraced royal only paid a “peppercorn” rent to live in the lavish Royal Lodge before he was forced to move out.

On top of this, it was reported that his brother Prince Edward also enjoys living in his own 120-room mansion, Bagshot Park, for a heavily subsidised deal.

While many members of the firm could come under scrutiny during the audit from the Public Accounts Committee this summer, royal expert Duncan Larcombe believes there are two senior royals who are the most likely to come out of the ordeal unscathed – Kate and William.

The Prince and Princess of Wales moved into their ‘forever home’ last autumn and have taken a radically different approach to the rest of the Royal Family.

Now living in Forest Lodge, the couple is reported to have independently funded all renovations themselves and are paying a full market rent. According to The Times, leaked documents show that the lease price sits at a whopping £307,500 per year.

Larcombe said: “It’s no surprise that William and Kate are paying a rent of over £300,000 a year for their property. They’re in tune with the public mood and they’ve let it be known that they’re above criticism, which is very sensible.”

The expert also notes that the backlash Meghan and Harry received in turn became a turning point for royal accountability. He explained: “It was one of the first major times Harry and Meghan had been criticised.

“That resentment set a precedent for the rest of the royal addresses. It has since been compounded by Prince Andrew and the peppercorn rent disclosures, which have turned into a genuine, ongoing scandal.”

Commenting on whether the Royal Family should have to pay huge bills on their homes, Larcombe states that public opinion still remains deeply divided.

He said: “Arch-royalists will say, ‘No, they deserve it for the sacrifices and the duty that they engage in.’ People that aren’t so fond of the Royal Family are going to say: ‘Well, they should pay rent like anyone else.’ That’s the dividing line.

“I’m not sure where I sit on it. I think if we are going to expect them to do public service for their whole lives, then the least the public can do is allow them to avoid huge bills for the homes they live in.”