Following the release of Prince Harry’s Netflix docuseries ‘Spare,’ King Charles kicked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex out of Frogmore Cottage, but he could choose to extend an olive branch ahead of his coronation. King Charles could give Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the keys to a suite of rooms previously held by Prince Andrew in Buckingham Palace for when they visit London. The couple is still unconfirmed to attend the coronation ceremony and had previously demanded a private meeting and an apology from the king. Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence recently told Fox News that the king’s goal is to give the Sussexes a home base in the U.K. so that he may see and have a relationship with his grandchildren. It remains to be seen whether or not Prince Harry will accept this offer.
FOX NEWS: King Charles offers Meghan Markle, Prince Harry ‘lifeline’ following eviction ‘blowback’: expert
By Stephanie Nolasco & Ashley Papa; March 8, 2023
King Charles III may have given Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the boot from Frogmore Cottage, but he could have an offer the couple won’t refuse.
The monarch could give the Duke and Duchess of Sussex the keys to an apartment in Buckingham Palace as their U.K. residence when they visit, the Independent reported. According to the outlet, the suite of rooms that the king may offer to the couple previously belonged to Prince Andrew.
Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital that it is likely Charles, 74, would offer an olive branch to his son leading up to the coronation. The king will be crowned on May 6 at London’s Westminster Abbey.
“There’s been a bit of blowback over the king’s decision to evict the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage, and the last thing Charles wants is to look like a heartless landlord,” Andersen explained. “The king also needs to throw Harry a lifeline – a place where he can bring his family – and feel safe if, at the last minute, the Sussexes decide to show up for the coronation.”
“It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to coax Harry and Meghan back to London for the big day,” Andersen noted. “Given all the flak they’ve been getting on both sides of the pond, it’s just as likely the Sussexes will opt to shelter in place.”
A spokesperson for the couple confirmed on Sunday that Harry “recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation.”
“An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time,” the spokesperson added.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital that the king needs to create a home base for the Sussexes whenever they choose to visit. The goal, she said, is for the king to see his two young grandchildren.
“It’s unrealistic to think that the king was ever going to make them book a hotel or an Airbnb,” said Felton Spence. “Realistically, he wants to see his grandchildren. When they come to visit it will most likely only ever be for big royal family events… Do I think it’s so he can monitor them? No. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. This is an economical decision.”
“[But] no one likes living at Buckingham Palace,” she noted. “They all want to be in Windsor. It’s less fish bowly and less opulent (though it is plenty opulent). Buckingham Palace is not a family home. It’s an office. The king doesn’t have to worry about Buckingham Palace just sitting empty as he does with other properties. Buckingham Palace is always going to be maintained, it’s always going to have staff. It’s a very economical choice to say, ‘Hey when you visit, you can stay here.’”
“Buckingham Palace comes with its own set of rules, in a way that Frogmore Cottage or anything else would not,” Felton Spence shared. “It’s not to keep an eye on them as much as it just is to keep them close.”
On March 1, a spokesperson for the couple’s Archewell Foundation told Fox News Digital, “We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage.”
Frogmore Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle west of London, had been intended as the couple’s main residence before they gave up royal duties in 2020 and moved to Southern California. The Sun newspaper reported that Charles started the eviction process on Jan. 11, the day after the publication of Harry’s explosive memoir “Spare.”
Disclosures Harry, 38, made in “Spare” deepened the rift between him and his family. The book included his account of private conversations with his father, and his brother, Prince William.
The prince also singled out Camilla, the queen consort, accusing her of leaking private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after marrying Charles. Camilla, 75, was once reviled for her long-term affair with Charles, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage to the late Prince Diana, Harry and William’s mother.
After leaving Britain, Harry and Meghan had said Frogmore Cottage would remain their base when they visited the U.K. However, in a report for Yahoo! News, “Finding Freedom” author Omid Scobie claimed that the property will now be going to Prince Andrew, who is being downsized from his more lavish Royal Lodge residence.
The Duke of York stepped back from royal duties in 2019 following a televised interview regarding his controversial ties to late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Felton Spence said that the possibility of the Sussexes getting an apartment at Buckingham Palace is “not a diss” from the king.
“The President gets invitations to stay at Buckingham Palace,” she said. “I’m told it’s the guest suite that was assigned to Andrew. Remember, he was kicked out of Buckingham Palace a while back, and I said it’s because he doesn’t require an office. It’s also because – as a non-senior member of the family — he doesn’t need an office nor does he need access to high-profile events held in the public house. It’s more of a signal of Andrew’s banishment than it is of any anger toward Harry and Meghan. The decision of Frogmore Cottage had to do with downgrading Andrew to available property.”
Kinsey Schofield, the host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital that Buckingham Palace does have one thing Harry has been fighting for in court.
“Buckingham Palace has all the security in the world in place,” said Schofield. “However, I have heard that the king is willing to temporarily allow them to use Frogmore if they attend the coronation.”
“Sources close to Harry and Meghan allege that the Sussexes initially wanted to move into Buckingham Palace when planning their future,” she claimed. “Buckingham Palace is one of the most notable landmarks in the world. Meghan would love those bragging rights. A photo exists of Meghan on vacation sitting in front of Buckingham Palace at age 15. Meghan would likely feel a sense of self-importance knowing that she was living in the queen’s former residence.”
Previously, Harry launched a legal challenge to the U.K. government’s refusal to let him personally pay for police protection when he visits Britain. In 2022, lawyers for Harry told a court hearing he was unwilling to bring his children to his homeland because it is not safe.
Harry wants to be able to pay for the protection, saying his private security team in the U.S. does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to U.K. intelligence information.
During a hearing at the High Court in London, Harry’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, said the prince “does not feel safe when he is in the U.K. given the security arrangements applied to him.”
“It goes without saying that he does want to come back to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart,” she said. “Most of all, this is and always will be, his home.”
In September 2020, a spokesman announced the couple had repaid 2.4 million pounds ($3.2 million) in British taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate Frogmore Cottage when they were working members of the royal family.
The money “fully covered” the cost of the renovation, the spokesman said.
The couple resides in the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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