Will Meghan and Prince Harry get a refund after King Charles kicked them out of Frogmore Cottage?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could be getting a “refund” after they were thrown out of Frogmore Cottage after spending £2.4 million on refurbishments and apparently paying rent in advance.

King Charles issued a notice to the Sussexes that they would have to vacate the five-bedroom mansion on Tuesday in a dramatic move reportedly sparked by repeated attacks on Queen Consort Camilla in the duke’s memoir, Spare.

The decision was supported by both his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales, it is understood.

However, it has now raised questions about whether the Crown Estate, which leases Frogmore from the Sussexes, might actually end up owing the couple money.

Queen Elizabeth gave the Sussexes use of Frogmore Cottage in 2018 amid her explosive falling out with William and Katherine.

Originally five dilapidated staff residences, these were converted into a large house with a private garden initially using £2.4 million in taxpayers’ money.

The couple themselves paid for anything beyond the basic fixtures and fittings.

At the time, the couple was said to be “relieved and pleased” to reimburse taxpayers for the renovations.

“They are ‘very relieved and very pleased’ to have been able to pay off the debt so quickly,” a source close to them told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl.

‘This has been a proactive step and something they wanted to do from the start.

‘There was no requirement [from the Queen] for them to pay the money back, but it was important to them that they do so, and after the deal with Netflix they were in a position to do so. I think this is a pretty significant moment for them.

The source added: “Now they are in their forever home, it is the start of their new life and they are looking forward to everything to come.”

However, they spent only six months in the house before moving to North America, first to Canada and then to California, where they bought an £11 million mansion in Montecito.

Despite several public statements by Harry that he now sees his future in the US, he and Meghan decided to reimburse the Crown Estate for the cost of the renovations in a deal that included leasing Frogmore Cottage for an unspecified number of years.

The couple claimed it would mean “their family would always have a place to call home in the UK” as they pursued lucrative business deals abroad.

More importantly, the Sussexes also felt that paying back public money that had been spent on Frogmore would deflect continued criticism.

Last year, royal officials confirmed Harry and Meghan were completely “financially independent” and said the couple’s decision to return Frogmore’s £2.4m represented a “good deal” for taxpayers.

According to the Palace’s annual accounts, the lump sum they transferred to cover the redevelopment of their former marital home on the Queen’s estate also included undisclosed future rental costs.

The couple were also said to be funding general upkeep on their former home, such as garden upkeep, with the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant effectively acting as the ‘owner’, carrying out larger works, such as anything that needs to be done in The exterior of the Grade II listed property.

A senior royal source said the rent had been calculated independently and based on market values.

‘I can be sure that this is a good deal for both the Sovereign Grant and the taxpayer,’ they added.

But if the Sussexes have paid several years of rent in advance, the sudden termination of their lease has raised questions in royal circles about whether they should be paid back.

The couple agreed to prepay in anticipation that they would return to the UK regularly despite settling in California to see family and friends.

But the implosion of their relationships with the senior royals has meant that they have rarely returned in the past three years.

And the decision to terminate your lease, whether you like it or not, could provoke an aggressive response. It has been reported that a ‘flurry of letters’ has been passing between the Sussex team and the Palace in recent weeks.

Roya Nikkhah, royal editor of The Sunday Times, has insisted that the couple will expect at least some of the money they spent on Frogmore to be paid back to them.

“I’m sure that will be something the bean counters at Buckingham Palace would have taken into account,” she told True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat.

“I don’t think Buckingham Palace will give them notice, evict them and disregard the fact that there is a certain period left on the lease.

Harry and Meghan renewed their lease last year, and I’m sure they’ll be looking to get that money back.

‘I don’t think that’s a problem, it’s more about the optics. It is interesting that the King and Buckingham Palace would have known how it would have developed optically.

‘Somehow it implies that the King doesn’t care about the optics of that decision. It is his decision; he is doing it and has done it.’

Speaking to Anderson Cooper, presenter of the US television news program 60 Minutes, in January, Harry said Camilla’s willingness to engage with the British press made her “dangerous” and that “there would be bodies in the street because of it”.

He also referred to her as ‘the villain’ in television interviews.

Sources have told the Mail that the monarch has found the implosion of his relationship with his youngest son “extremely painful”.

The decision to ask the couple to leave their Windsor home was apparently a difficult one for the King as well, particularly as he did not wish to add fuel to the fire of their ongoing feud.

Speaking about the decision to start the process, a source said: “It felt like it would be like taking off a Band-Aid.” Painful, but once it’s done, it’s done.

The house has already been offered to Prince Andrew, who is said to be resisting pressure to “downsize” the seven-bedroom Royal Lodge.

The King is understood to be particularly interested in resolving many of the lingering issues remaining around Harry, Meghan and Andrew ahead of their coronation, which have “dragoned on” for far too long.

Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the decision to ask the Sussexes to pack up their remaining belongings from their five-bedroom Windsor cottage earlier in the summer.

It is understood that they had initially been asked to resign when their lease was renewed next month, but had been given a stay of execution.

However, a spokesperson for the couple officially confirmed this week that they had been “asked to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage”, a sign of their shock and anger at the move.

The latest twist in the Windsors’ ongoing war suggests there is even more doubt about their appearance at the King’s coronation on May 6.

Buckingham Palace has declined to comment.