Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, now live in California with their son Archie. (File)
London:
British Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have fulfilled their “obligations” with regard to their British home and no further payments on the property will be required at this time, a high profile source at Buckingham Palace has said.
The couple, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have been criticized by some British media after spending £ 2.4million to renovate Frogmore Cottage, located within the grounds of Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle west of London, before stepping down from their roles as members of the royal family at the end of March.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, now live in California with their son Archie but have kept the Windsor home as their UK base.
Earlier this month, their spokesperson confirmed they had made a contribution to cover his renovation costs, and the palace source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the payment also covered the rent, set at a commercial rate, which he owed from April.
“They have fulfilled their current obligations, their debts to Frogmore Cottage, and they have made a payment which will recognize that they have paid for the rental of this property for several years,” the source said.
“There will be a time in the future when they are expected to make other payments.”
The disclosure comes as royal accounts released on Friday showed the Queen’s finances will suffer over the next several years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sovereign Grant, a taxpayer-funded contribution that covers staff costs, palace maintenance and travel costs, is based on 15% of excess income from the Crown Estate, a real estate portfolio owned by the monarchy, two years ago.
In 2016, that percentage was raised to 25% for a decade to pay for a major 10-year overhaul of Buckingham Palace. This provided the Queen with £ 82.4million for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
However, Crown Estate revenue has been impacted by the COVID pandemic, which means that the sovereign grant amount of $ 86.3 million for 2021-2 would be frozen for the following year, as the funding formula means that it cannot go down in absolute terms.
Michael Stevens, the Queen’s Treasurer, known as Keeper of the Privy Purse, said they now predict there will be a £ 20million shortfall in the £ 369million budget for work at Buckingham Palace.
He also said they stand to lose £ 5million a year over the next three years from other income, mainly the Royal Collection Trust, which derives its funding from the sale of tickets to the Royal Palaces which were closed during the coronavirus lockdown.
“In responding to these two financial challenges, we do not intend to seek additional funds and we will seek to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiency,” said Stevens.
Among the measures taken, there is a recruitment freeze for all posts except essential posts and a payment freeze for all staff since April.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
