London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Frogmore Cottage can't be given to Prince Andrew

Frogmore Cottage can't be given to Prince Andrew

Not since the golden era of Big Brother has there been an eviction that captured so many headlines.

Meghan and Harry have been asked to leave their UK property, Frogmore Cottage, by King Charles and it’s sent commentators into another rather predictable royal frenzy.

But while headline writers fall over themselves to create yet another portmanteau ending in ‘xit’ (Frogxit being arguably the worst yet), the focus is once again on Harry and Meghan, instead of Prince Andrew.

The disgraced Prince – and by that I mean Andrew, not Harry, despite what some commentators would have you believe – has reportedly been offered Frogmore Cottage as a ‘grace-and-favour’ home by his brother the King, according to The Sun.

For those unaware, a grace-and-favour home is a property owned by a monarch and leased as part of an employment package or in gratitude for past services rendered.

Which begs the question, what exactly constitutes graceful or favourable behaviour in the eyes of the palace?

Harry marrying a woman of colour and calling out problematic practices within the royal institution? Or Andrew’s friendship with a paedophile sex offender?

Why should any property be reserved for a man who has conducted himself as Andrew has?


The King is said to be reducing Andrew’s £249,000 annual allowance, meaning he will no longer be able to afford the upkeep of his current home, Royal Lodge. Poor guy. I guess the cost-of-living crisis really is affecting all of us.

Quite why any single man looking after his ex-wife and his late mum’s dogs needs a 98-acre, 30-room, seven-bedroom property to get by is beyond me.

According to a source quoted in The Sun, Andrew is said to be ‘resisting’ the move to Frogmore – with its mere five bedrooms – in the same way he reportedly resisted his removal from public life, his cooperation with the FBI and his ability to sweat.

The Sussexes, meanwhile, haven’t actually lived at Frogmore Cottage for almost three years, after they decided to move across the pond, take a step back from royal duties and fund their own lifestyles.

It’s not quite the ‘you’re fired’ moment some corners of the press are portraying it as because it’s not really an eviction if you don’t actually live there. But a spokesperson for the couple confirmed they had been requested to vacate the property, meaning that most of the furniture they reportedly left there will have to go into storage – along with any remnants of that dog bowl.

Speculation over the couple’s attendance at the coronation has been reignited now they have lost their UK base, but I’m sure they can afford a few nights stay at a hotel in town. As Harry and Meghan have shown time and time again – they are happy to pay for things themselves.

Since they took a step back from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan claimed they offered to pay for their own police protection, yet the Home Office declined to accept that offer. On top of that, they repaid the £2.4million renovations of their ex-home to the taxpayer.

Prince Andrew, however, also resigned from public roles in 2020, but continued to have his security paid for by us at a reported £2million a year.

As Harry and Meghan have shown time and again – they are happy to pay for things themselves


Royal commentator, Lee Cohen, said ‘[Harry and Meghan’s] behaviour has understandably made them deeply unpopular… so why should Frogmore or any residence be reserved for them when they don’t want to be there and neither do the citizens of Britain want them there.’

The same argument could – and should – be made about Andrew. Granted, he wants to stay firmly in the UK, but why should any property be reserved for a man who has conducted himself as Andrew has?

Both men have been the subject of royal scandals – of that there’s no doubt. But Harry’s ‘scandalous’ revelations were, in my opinion, considered, intentional and took aim at powerful people within a powerful public institution.

Andrew’s scandals involve friendships with a convicted sex offender and a sex trafficker.

Who is more deserving of grace and favour? The man who denied ever having met a victim of sex trafficking, despite apparent photographic evidence to the contrary, or the man who, some people claim, ‘ruined’ his family image by holding up a mirror to it?

The real Frogmore scandal is not that Harry and Meghan have been asked to move out their belongings, but that Andrew has been invited to move his in. While I take some comfort in the fact that he allegedly views this move as a downgrade, it’s not quite the fall from grace he truly deserves.

While the overwhelming majority of the UK struggle to pay for basic essentials, the royals continue to live a life of uninterrupted luxury by way of birth.

The cost of the coronation is already said to have reached over £100million, and while many argue that it is a moment in our history to be celebrated, that brings little to comfort to those who pay tax towards it, yet can’t afford to switch on their TV to watch it.

As long as royal commentators have Harry and Meghan in their sights, Andrew continues to lurk in the shadows, edging ever closer to the spotlight.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
×