Harry and Meghan have to leave their royal home in the UK

LONDON - Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have been asked to move out of Frogmore Cottage, their five-bedroom Georgian house in the grounds of Windsor Castle, the couple's press secretary said, in a new signal from the

between them and the British royal family since they retired from royal duties and left Britain.

Queen Elizabeth II offered the house to the couple, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, at the time of their wedding in 2018.

It has served as their base of operations on their infrequent visits to Britain since they moved to Montecito, California.

Frogmore Cottage, which they refurbished at a reported cost of £2.4 million ($2.9 million), had been a wedding gift from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018. It has now been offered to Prince Andrew, the disgraced brother of King Carlos III, as reported by The Sun and Daily Telegraph.

(Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

"We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage," said press secretary Ashley Hansen, who is head of communications for the couple's Archewell foundation.

Hansen did not provide further details about the reasons for or timing of the eviction, which was first reported by British tabloid

The Sun said King Charles III had made the decision shortly after the publication of Harry's memoir,

," which is replete with harsh accounts of Harry's dysfunctional relationship with Charles, his father, and with his brother, Prince

Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the report, as it has refused to comment on the claims made in Harry's book.

Discussions over the country house were a "private family matter," according to a person with ties to the palace who was not authorized to speak to the media and commented on condition of anonymity.

The royal property transfer gained more interest with information from The Sun that the king had offered Frogmore Cottage to

his disgraced younger brother.

In this way, Andrew would have a home after he moved from his much larger house,

, which is also located in a large park near Windsor Castle.

Andrew can no longer afford to maintain the residence, The Sun and other British newspapers have reported, after the king planned to cut his allowance.

At the behest of Charles of England, Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his honorary titles and sent him into a sort of internal exile after he settled a sexual assault lawsuit

from his association with convicted sexual predator

.

Losing Frogmore Cottage will be a bitter pill to swallow for Harry and Meghan, and casts doubt on the couple attending the king's coronation in May.

They spent £2.4 million (about $2.9 million) to renovate the charming but dilapidated house, which had been divided into apartments for Windsor Castle employees.

The renovation, paid for with taxpayer funds, caused outrage, and when Harry and Meghan negotiated their withdrawal from royal duties in 2020, they repaid the money.

The couple have been supported by deals with

, which recently aired a documentary about their break with the royal family, as well as

, which published Harry's memoir.

In the opaque finances of the royal family, the King is not the private owner of Frogmore Cottage.

It is part of the Crown Heritage, which belongs to the monarch and is administered by him.

But any rental income would go to the

Carlos could face other real estate decisions after his mother's death in September.

Although he works at Buckingham Palace, the king continues to live mainly at

his nearby London residence, and at Highgrove House, his Gloucestershire weekend retreat.

This leaves the Queen's two main residences,

and Windsor Castle, virtually empty.

Located within the gated grounds of Windsor Castle, Frogmore Cottage offered Harry and his family refuge and security, aspects that the couple say have become important issues for them when visiting Britain, as they no longer have funded police protection

For the state.

In the United States they pay private security.

At the beginning of "Spare", Harry recalled a tense meeting with his father and brother in Frogmore Gardens, not far from the cottage, to iron out their differences, hours after Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021.

"How beautiful it all is, I thought. And also how sad," Harry wrote.

"Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead, it had proven to be just another brief stopover."

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