Plans are being developed to restore Frogmore Cottage to its original arrangement as two semi-connected homes, though no construction work has started yet at the royal property. The house, which was gifted to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by the late Queen Elizabeth II, has stood empty since early 2023.
That leaves one of the monarchy’s most discussed homes in limbo for now. Harry and Meghan spent a year turning Frogmore Cottage into a single residence after receiving it, and the renovation bill reached EUR 2.4 million, including a full overhaul of the electrical wiring and the installation of new gas and water supply systems. The work also brought in a yoga studio, new ceiling beams and floor joists, making the home far more modern than the cottage-style property it had been before.
The latest plan would reverse that transformation and take the house back toward its earlier layout. Under the Frogmore House Act of 1841, Frogmore Cottage is managed through the Sovereign Grant, giving the royal estate a formal framework for its upkeep and maintenance. That matters now because the property has been vacant for more than two years, with no active work underway even as preparations are said to be in development.
The vacancy followed King Charles’s decision to evict Harry in early 2023 after the release of his memoir Spare. Since then, the cottage has become a symbol of a break that is both personal and practical: a royal home that was modernized at high cost, then emptied before it could be used for long by the couple who moved in. A related account said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor declined an offer to move into Frogmore Cottage, underscoring how difficult it has been to find a new occupant for the house.
For now, the question is not whether Frogmore Cottage will be changed again, but whether the royal household will actually start the work and settle the property’s future after years of upheaval.
