King Charles reportedly decided to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage due to the repeated broadsides at Queen Consort Camilla in his younger son’s memoir, Spare.
The monarch issued a notice to the Sussexes on Tuesday to vacate the five-bedroom mansion on the Windsor Estate – a move backed by his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The decision was apparently a difficult one for the King, particularly as he was keen not to add fuel to the fire of the ongoing row with Harry.
But he is understood to have reached a point where he believed Harry had ‘crossed a line’ following claims made in their Netflix series and the prince’s bombshell memoir.
The King is said to have been particularly outraged about accusations that Camilla was responsible for leaking stories to the media, The Mirror reports.
King Charles reportedly decided to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage due to his son’s repeated broadsides at Queen Consort Camilla
The monarch issued notice to the Sussexes on Tuesday to vacate the the five-bedroom mansion on the Windsor Estate
Speaking in January to Anderson Cooper, who hosts the US TV news show 60 Minutes, Harry said Camilla’s willingness to forge relationships with the British press made her ‘dangerous’ and there would be ‘bodies left in the street because of that’.
He also referred to her as ‘the villain’ in television interviews.
Charles reportedly started the eviction proceedings on January 11 – the day after Spare was released – after reading a dossier of findings from aides about details published in the book.
Sources told The Mirror that the accusations had caused irreparable damage to Harry’s relationship with his father and brother Prince William.
They added: ‘It was the last straw. Harry was well aware how Camilla would be a red line for his father and he crossed with flagrant disregard anyway.
‘The King felt without a doubt it crossed a line – it was the ultimate act of disrespect.’
It is understood that before his coronation the King is particularly keen to sort many of the nagging issues remaining around Harry, Meghan and Andrew that have been allowed to ‘drag on’ for far too long.
Discussing the decision to start the process, a source said: ‘It was felt that it would be like ripping off a Band-Aid. Painful, but once it’s done, it’s done.’
The latest twist in the ongoing war of the Windsors suggests there are even more doubts over their appearance at the King’s coronation on May 6.
Frogmore Cottage has already been offered to Prince Andrew, who is said to be resisting pressure to ‘downsize’ from seven-bedroom Royal Lodge.
But his current property is said to have serious damp problems and is need of a new roof, The Sun reports.
Harry and Meghan were given use of Frogmore Cottage when they wed in 2018 by the late Queen
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen in the kitchen at Frogmore Cottage, which they have been asked to clear of their belongings
The house has already been offered to Prince Andrew, who is said to be resisting pressure to ‘downsize’ from seven-bedroom Royal Lodge.
Royal Lodge is understood to need repairs costing millions of pounds, but Andrew is set to lose his annual funding from Charles.
A source told the newspaper: ‘Millions were spent when Andrew moved in, but that was 20 years ago.
‘Barely any work has gone on for two decades and people are shocked when they visit.
‘There is a serious issue with damp that needs to be rectified, and that isn’t cheap on a house of that size. It also needs a new roof.
‘Not only does Andrew not have the finances to bring the home up to scratch, it would be uninhabitable when the work is being carried out.’
Andrew currently pays a reported £250 a week for a state-subsidised 30-room mansion complete with 98 acres of land and a swimming pool – and after two decades there is not keen to leave it.
But the Duke of York is set to lose his £250,000-a-year funding from the King as part of a shake-up of private royal finances, and has had to sell off assets including a £19million ski chalet to pay for a settlement with Virginia Giuffre, a former teenage sex slave of the late paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew denies her allegations that she was forced to have sex with him.
Meanwhile, the Sussexes are not believed to have been offered an alternative property on any royal estate.
Sources claimed they had no idea that Frogmore was offered to Andrew until it appeared in the papers.
Buckingham Palace was still refusing to comment yesterday on the decision to ask the Sussexes to pack up their remaining belongings by early summer.
It is understood that they had initially been asked to quit when their lease came up for renewal next month, but had been given a stay of execution.
However, a spokesman for the couple went on record this week to confirm they had been ‘requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage’ in an apparent sign of their shock and anger at the move.
Harry and Meghan were given use of Frogmore Cottage when they wed in 2018 by Queen Elizabeth as their relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales deteriorated.
It was originally five run-down staff residences, but was knocked back into one large home with a private garden initially using £2.4million in taxpayers’ money. The couple themselves paid for anything over and above basic fixtures and fittings.
But they spent just six months in the house before moving to North America, first to Canada and then California, where they have bought an £11million mansion in Montecito.
Despite several public statements from Harry that he now sees his future in the US, he and Meghan decided to reimburse the Crown Estate for the cost of renovations in a deal which included leasing Frogmore Cottage for an unspecified number of years.
The couple claimed that it would mean ‘their family would always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom’ as they pursued lucrative commercial deals abroad.
More importantly, the Sussexes also felt that paying back any public money that had been spent on Frogmore would deflect continuing criticism.
Last year, royal officials confirmed that the couple were fully ‘financially independent’ and said their decision to repay the £2.4million on Frogmore represented a ‘good deal’ for taxpayers.
According to the Palace’s annual accounts, the lump sum they transferred to cover the refurbishment of their former marital home on the Queen’s estate also included undisclosed future rental costs.