‘Financially independent’ Prince Harry paid for Easter visit to England with Meghan
- The Sussexes have achieved financial independence according to a royal source
- Harry and Meghan paid for their own flights when they visited the UK at Easter
- Royal officials also said the couple’s decision to repay £2.4million on their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor was a ‘good deal’ for taxpayers
Harry and Meghan are now ‘financially independent’ and paid for their own flights when they visited England at Easter.
Royal officials also said the couple’s decision to repay £2.4million on their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor was a ‘good deal’ for taxpayers.
A royal source said of the Sussexes’ financial independence: ‘Great credit to them… that has now been achieved.’
The accounts show the sum they paid to cover refurbishment of their former marital home – which they have used as a family only once since relocating to the US – includes undisclosed future rental costs.
The couple are also funding the general upkeep of their former home, like maintaining the garden, with the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant effectively acting as the ‘landlord’, undertaking more major works, such as anything needing doing to the outside of the house.
The accounts show the sum they paid to cover refurbishment of their former marital home – which they have used as a family only once since relocating to the US
Harry and Meghan are now ‘financially independent’ and paid for their own flights when they visited England at Easter
Frogmore, a Grade-II listed property which is owned by the Crown Estate, was a gift from Harry’s grandmother, the Queen.
The senior royal source said the rent had been calculated independently and based on market values.
‘I can be confident in saying that this is a good deal for the Sovereign Grant and the taxpayer alike,’ they added.
Royal sources also disclosed yesterday that the Prince of Wales had a ‘very emotional’ first meeting with his granddaughter Lilibet and a special reunion with grandson Archie when Harry and Meghan returned to the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Charles and Camilla were ‘absolutely thrilled’ to see the family.
Harry has had a troubled relationship with Charles, telling Oprah Winfrey last year how he felt let down by his father, who he claimed had abandoned him financially – a claim much disputed by well-placed sources.
But a senior royal aide, at the briefing of Clarence House’s annual review, said it had been ‘wonderful’ to have the Sussexes back in the UK at the start of June.
‘It was fantastic to see them. It was wonderful to have them back in Britain,’ the source said.
Frogmore, a Grade-II listed property which is owned by the Crown Estate, was a gift from Harry’s grandmother, the Queen
‘The prince and the duchess were absolutely thrilled to see them.
‘The prince, of course, hasn’t seen his grandson Archie for a bit of time and so it was very, very, very special to have some time with him.
‘He hadn’t met Lili, his granddaughter, and so to meet her was very emotional, a very, very wonderful thing.’
Charles’s bill for the activities of William and Harry and their families, and other costs including capital expenditure and transfer to reserves, has dropped by £1.2 million over two years, with the Sussexes no longer listed in the accounts.
This year’s accounts showed the heir to the throne’s annual private income from the Duchy of Cornwall had increased by nearly 13 per cent to £23 million, as the Duchy’s profits rebounded after the pandemic.
As heir to the throne, Charles is entitled to the surplus generated by the Duchy’s vast portfolio of land, buildings and financial investments.
Charles spent £3.3 million – a quarter of a million more than last year – on non-official expenditure for himself and his family, including salary costs of personal staff and a proportion of costs of gardeners and estate workers.
His official expenditure on royal duties and charitable work came to £9.2 million.
The prince paid nearly £5.9 million voluntarily in tax.
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