Royal couple and new parents, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading into a fixer upper with their new home, Frogmore Cottage as reports reveal the upcoming renovation will allegedly cost over $3 million in taxpayer money.
According to Harper’s Bazaar, the money that will be used for the Frogmore renovations will come from the Sovereign Grant, which is also known as public money, allocated to the queen each year for the purposes of fulfilling royal duties. This year, that amount totaled $104.5 million.
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The outlet goes on to note that the royal family spent about $85.2 million of this year’s Sovereign Grant money on expenses such as “property maintenance, payroll and staff costs, travel, utilities, and housekeeping.” The additional $19.3 million was placed into the a reserve fund of the Sovereign Grant, which will be used for ongoing Buckingham Palace renovations.
News of the fund breakdown comes after it was announced that Harry and Markle recently split from the charity fund that they shared with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
“Later this year the Royal Foundation will become the principal charitable and philanthropic vehicle for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,” a statement from the palace explained of the development.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will establish their own new charitable foundation with transitional operating support from the Royal Foundation,” the statement added. “In addition both couples will continue to work together on projects in the future, including on the Foundation’s mental health programme, Heads Together.”
“These changes are designed to best complement the work and responsibilities of Their Royal Highnesses as they prepare for their future roles, and to better align their charitable activity with their new households,” the statement continued.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are incredibly proud of what they have achieved together through The Royal Foundation,” the statement concluded. “They are especially proud to have established a charity that has had, and will continue to have, significant long-lasting impact, changing lives for the better.”
Some reports have indicated that the split stems from a feud between William and Harry, with a source previously stating, “Certainly the animosity over status, money, and Meghan meant that the split in their joint households had to be brought forward much more quickly than anticipated, so perhaps it was inevitable that their joint charity has to be split, too.”
“William is the future king and so is sometimes restricted in what he can do. The Sussexes want the flexibility of more commercial decisions,” the source also said. “But the brothers’ relationship has vastly improved since their working lives have separated.”
