Harry and Meghan began repaying $2.9M Frogmore Cottage debt ONLY after Charles agreed to foot US security bill
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were able to start paying off their massive $2.9M (£2.4M) bill for Frogmore Cottage renovations only after Prince Charles agreed to foot their US security bill.
Harry and Meghan had promised to pay back taxpayers after renovating their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, as part of their deal to step down as senior members of the royal family. The pair have insisted on keeping Frogmore as their British base despite relocating to Los Angeles with their baby son, Archie. The couple was left in a tight spot for money after they were told that they would not have the services of their Metropolitan Police security team. Up until the end, Harry was confident that he would be allowed to keep them, given his position in the order of succession as well as the fact that he is a former frontline army officer.
It has been reported that Harry and Meghan have started to pay rent for Frogmore Cottage. They are paying approximately $22,000 a month to maintain their home should they decide to ever move back to the UK, Daily Mail reveals. The arrangement is believed to be a 'rental-plus' agreement where the couple is paying more than the commercial rate so that the excess is used to clear the renovation bill. It is also believed that it would take around 11 years of payments to cover the $2.9M bill. This time frame is not inclusive of the interest or the running cost of the property.
The parents of one had made their bombshell announcement to step down as senior members of the royal family earlier this year. The pair had also shared that they would be financially independent given they were no longer bound by royal engagements and duties.
After leaving the UK, the couple initially relocated to Canada where it was made clear by authorities that the couple would not have round-the-clock protection. Then Harry and Meghan moved to Los Angeles, which only complicated the situation further, making it more expensive. This led to Harry and Meghan having to hire private security guards, which would cost an estimated $4.9M (£4M) a year. This expense had not been accounted for by the couple, putting them in a financially difficult place.
They had to resort to asking Harry's father, Prince Charles, to foot their security bill to create some space to pay back for their Frogmore Cottage renovations. Harry and Meghan are currently being funded by Prince Charles for the first year of their new life as they struggle to get on their feet. "They had fully expected that British taxpayers would continue to foot the bill for their protection but then the rug was pulled from under their feet and they had to ask Prince Charles to step in," a source shared with Daily Mail. "That’s the reason why they are now able to start paying back the Queen and the Crown Estate, who met the cost of the building work out of public funds," the source continued. The source also shared that the bills skyrocketed when they included expensive designs for jobs that did not even take shape.
"One of the biggest costs at Frogmore was that they flew in a designer from the US to design the garden. Meghan also wanted a tennis court. There are already tennis courts nearby in Home Park. But it would have meant them coming out of the garden and being seen, which she didn’t like," the source added. Another insider pointed out, "They felt that Frogmore and the money spent on it was no different from any other arrangement involving the main home of a member of the royal family."
"But because it was Harry and Meghan, it was always being used as a stick to beat them with. Paying back the money was one of the first decisions they took," the insider shared and added that the couple knew that if they paid up then no one could slam them over money anymore.
The pair is now living in Los Angeles, California, at an ultra-luxury Beverly Hills mansion that belongs to Tyler Perry. While the couple has never been seen with Perry, it is believed that they all met thanks to their mutual close friend, Oprah Winfrey, Daily Mail reports.