Sussexes get decade to pay reno bill
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are repaying the costs of renovations to Frogmore Cottage in instalments that may take more than a decade, it emerged yesterday.
The couple agreed to meet the bill for refurbishing the grade II listed property near Windsor Castle, intended as their marital home, as part of the deal struck with senior members of the royal family and Buckingham Palace officials in January.
Royal accounts published last year showed that £2.4 million (NZ$4.8m) was spent on renovating the house, paid for from the sovereign grant.
The total cost is likely to be higher because the figure does not include work that was started in the next financial year.
Harry and Meghan paid an additional sum for fittings and fixtures of their choice beyond a budget allocated by royal officials.
In their statement in January announcing their wish to ‘‘carve out a new progressive role’’, they said they wanted to ‘‘balance their time’’ between the United Kingdom and north America.
Under the negotiations that followed the couple were obliged to pay rent for the cottage, which remains their British base, and ‘‘to repay sovereign grant expenditure for the refurbishment’’.
The arrangements for doing so were not disclosed.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the Sussexes, who have relocated to a rented home in California, last month began paying £18,000 monthly in enhanced rent for Frogmore Cottage, which includes a contribution towards the renovation costs above a commercial rent.
Based on that rate, repayment of the capital sum alone would take 11 years, without allowing for interest or rent.