Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have finally started paying back the £2.4 million in taxpayer money, which was used to renovate Frogmore Cottage.
According to the Daily Mail, the couple started chipping away at the bill, after Prince Charles agreed to help them pay for their security costs in the US.
Harry’s father will reportedly contribute up to £2 million every year in security costs for the couple – while they’re residing in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed their security in the US would be “privately funded”, after President Donald Trump publicly stated that American taxpayers would not pay for their protection.
He tweeted: “I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada.”
“Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay.”
In response to Donald’s tweet, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the U.S. Government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made.”
After Princes Charles agreed to help them pay for their security bill, the couple reportedly started paying monthly instalments of almost £18,000 – to pay back the £2.4 million in taxpayer money that was used to renovate their home in Windsor.
Harry and Meghan pledged to pay back the money, after they announced their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family.
A source told the Daily Mail: “They had fully expected that British taxpayers would continue to foot the bill for their protection but then the rug was pulled from under their feet and they had to ask Prince Charles to step in.”
“That’s the reason why they are now able to start paying back the Queen and the Crown Estate, who met the cost of the building work out of public funds.”
“One of the biggest costs at Frogmore was that they flew in a designer from the US to design the garden,” the source continued.
“Meghan also wanted a tennis court. There are already tennis courts nearby in Home Park. But it would have meant them coming out of the garden and being seen, which she didn’t like.”
A source close to the couple added: “They felt that Frogmore and the money spent on it was no different from any other arrangement involving the main home of a member of the Royal Family.”
“But because it was Harry and Meghan, it was always being used as a stick to beat them with.”
“Paying back the money was one of the first decisions they took. They knew that if they did, no one would have the right to do that any more.”
On this week’s episode of the Gosscast, Ali and Kendra discuss Ben Foden and his wife Jackie’s dramatic birth, those rumours about Kylie Jenner and Drake, and Lana Del Rey’s controversial statement.
The Gosscast is available on iTunes and Spotify.
