Back in May, there was a strange story about how Frogmore Cottage has been sitting vacant for two full years. King Charles evicted Prince Harry and his family from Frogmore in January 2023, coinciding with the release of Harry’s memoir. The eviction was an explicit punishment for writing Spare, and it was one of the worst things Charles had ever done to the Sussexes. It was more than just an eviction from a home they legally leased and spent a fortune renovating – it was also about leaving Harry unprotected whenever he visited the UK, and trying to control Harry’s movements within the UK. Well, Frogmore has been vacant for more than two years and now people are wondering why the hell that is, given the UK housing crisis and Charles’s cost-cutting measures (lol).
King Charles is “sending the wrong message with Frogmore Cottage”, several years after the Sussexes evicted the property, a commentator has claimed. The King is currently pursuing cost-cutting measures across the monarchy, evidenced by the Royal Train ceasing operations after 156 years of service. Robin Edwards, property buying agent at Curetons, has spoken exclusively to GB News about Frogmore Cottage, which has sat empty since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle vacated it in 2023.
“Frogmore Cottage has become something of a symbol in the ongoing conversation around the Royal Family’s finances and whether they offer good value for money to the taxpayer,” Edwards told the People’s Channel.
He highlighted the contradiction between the empty property and the monarchy’s modernisation efforts. “With the Sussexes having vacated the property several years ago and it now sitting empty, it raises awkward questions, particularly at a time when the monarchy is trying to show it is moving with the times and cutting back other costs, such as recently announcing the decommissioning of the Royal Train.”
The timing proves particularly uncomfortable as Palace officials emphasise financial discipline. James Chalmers, responsible for the King’s financial affairs, stated that the royal household must be “disciplined and forward-looking in our allocation of funding.”
Edwards expressed concern about the practical and symbolic implications of the vacant property. “From a property perspective, leaving a high-profile home like Frogmore Cottage unoccupied sends the wrong message. It’s not just about optics, though; it’s also about practicality,” he said. He warned that empty properties face accelerated deterioration. “An empty property deteriorates faster, and in the case of Frogmore Cottage, which underwent a costly renovation not long ago, the fact that it isn’t being lived in or repurposed risks appearing wasteful.”
The property expert emphasised the poor timing given the current economic pressures. “When many people in the country are struggling with the cost of living and housing costs in particular, leaving a royal residence empty does little to help the institution’s public image.”
Edwards suggested practical solutions for the empty residence. “At the very least, the property could be made functional, whether that’s through staff housing or short-term accommodation for visiting royal guests,” he said. He concluded that the vacant property represents a significant oversight. “Leaving it sitting vacant seems a massive missed opportunity and risks reinforcing the view that the Royal Family is out of touch with the reality most people are living in.”
“The optics are bad because the property has been vacant for two years” – but what if I told you that Charles wanted these specific optics, that of the Sussexes’ beloved family home, given to them by QEII, empty and rotting? That this was always the spiteful image Charles and the royalists wanted to create, that the Sussexes were so unwelcome that Charles would evict them and then just let Frogmore sit there without any occupants forever? But as I’ve said before, at this point, I don’t even believe that Frogmore is truly unoccupied. I do wonder if William has moved in, or if William has put some of his people/staffers in there (Jason Knauf) and they’re just not saying that.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Netflix.
