Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on Thursday, confirmed that they have been asked to vacate their royal cottage in the UK, which has an interesting British Raj-era Indian connection.
Frogmore Cottage, on King Charles III’s estate of Windsor Castle, was renovated by the couple and intended as a permanent base in the UK once they relocated to the US after stepping back as frontline royals.
Historically, the cottage had been a special gift to Abdul Karim by Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, in recognition of his service and as a sign of her affection towards her Indian aide and confidant.
"We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage," a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said.
According to UK media reports, the move was sanctioned by King Charles and many are linking it to the release of his younger son’s memoir ‘Spare’ in which Prince Harry writes about intimate aspects of Britain's royal family.
Frogmore Cottage, which is within the grounds of Windsor Castle, is a Grade-II listed historic building with 10 bedrooms and was gifted to the couple by Harry's late grandmother – Queen Elizabeth II.
It has been a popular gift by monarchs over the years including Queen Victoria offering it to her “Munshi” Abdul Karim, who was 24 years old when he arrived in England from Agra to present the monarch with a special mohar or gold coin to mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887.
He quickly grew close to the aging royal, who took Urdu lessons from him and showered him with many gifts.
“Queen Victoria would often visit the cottage and have tea with him and his wife. He had decorated it with many exotic things, including presents given to him by European royalty,” shares Shrabani Basu, the author of ‘Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant’ – which was also made into an Oscar-nominated film ‘Victoria and Abdul’, starring Judi Dench as Victoria and Ali Fazal as Abdul.
Today, the cottage looks more modern after Harry and Meghan refurbished it in 2018 at a cost of GBP 2.4 million, which was initially covered by British taxpayer money and later paid back.
Last year, they spent their daughter Lilibet's first birthday at the property during a visit to the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.
According to reports, the couple were asked to vacate the cottage in January – soon after the publication of ‘Spare’, in which Harry claims he was physically attacked by his brother, William – the Prince of Wales, and also that he had begged their father Charles not to marry Camilla, now Queen Consort.
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