Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has paid back £2.4 million, which is the refurbishment cost of a cottage he shares with wife Meghan Markle. The cottage is built on the grounds of Queen Elizabeth II’s Windsor estate.
There was buzz in the British media about the cost of refurbishment of this cottage which was funded by the UK taxpayer’s Sovereign Grant. “A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by the Duke of Sussex. This contribution, as originally offered by Prince Harry, has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty the Queen, and will remain the UK residence of the Duke and his family,” the spokesperson said.
The cottage has an Indian connection dating back to the Raj era, when it was presented as a royal gift to Abdul Karim by Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, as a sign of her affection for her Indian aide and confidant. In 2018, Harry’s grandmother, the Queen, presented it to him and Meghan Markle as a wedding gift. The couple lived in the cottage briefly with new-born baby Archie before permanently moving to the US earlier this year as they stepped back as frontline royals.
“Queen Victoria gave it to Abdul Karim as a special gift. She would often visit the cottage and have tea with his wife and him. He had decorated the house with many exotic things, including presents given to him by European royalty,” said Shrabani Basu, the author of ‘Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant’.
