Advertisement

Taxpayers paid £2.4m to renovate Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Frogmore Cottage

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son Archie - PA
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son Archie - PA

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new home of Frogmore Cottage has cost £2.4 million of public funds to renovate so far, according to this year’s Royal accounts.

The cottage has been remodelled from five separate living quarters into one large official residence for the couple and their son Archie, paid for largely by the Sovereign Grant.

While the couple have paid for any upgraded fixtures and fittings themselves, the public fund has met the cost of replacing heating, electric, gas and water main systems, as well as replacing ceiling beams and floor joists.

They were also able to install a “certain standard” of kitchen, bathroom, flooring and fitted furniture from the grant, with the cost of anything considered a “higher spec” than the approved palace quality being met by the Duke and Duchess privately.

The Frogmore Cottage restructure, approved so that the couple could move out of Kensington Palace into a family home before Archie was born, contributed to a total £67 million expenditure towards the maintenance of royal palaces and the official duties of the Queen.

Frogmore Cottage
Frogmore Cottage

A report, published by Buckingham Palace, disclosed the total Sovereign Grant for 2018/9 was £82.2m: equivalent to £1.24 per person in the UK.

Net expenditure has risen significantly from £47.4m in 2017/8 to £67m, thanks to an extra £15m for the major reservicing of Bukingham Palace itself.

The cost of the Royal wedding, as well as additional expenses incurred since the Duchess of Sussex officially married into the Royal Family in May 2018, were included within the accounts of the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales’ estate which funds his two sons and their families.

It reported that the Prince's bill for the Sussexes' and the Cambridges' activities, plus “capital expenditure and transfer to reserves”, was £5.05 million in 2018/9, a slight increase from 2017/8 and more than £1.5 million more than the £3.5 million in 2016/7.

The Prince’s “non-official expenditure” increased year-on-year by £155,000 to £3.16 million, funded by his estate. Aides insisted the financial details of the running of the Cambridge and Sussex’s working lives were to remain private despite their increasing workload.

Frogmore Cottage, in the grounds of Frogmore House - Credit: Getty
Frogmore Cottage, in the grounds of Frogmore House Credit: Getty

Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, who is responsible for monarchy's accounts, said of Frogmore Cottage: "The property had not been the subject of work for some years and had already been earmarked for renovation in line with our responsibility to maintain the condition of the occupied royal palaces estate.

"The Sovereign Grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family.

"The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property.

"Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by Their Royal Highnesses."

The Sussexes had their wedding reception at Frogmore - Credit: Chris Allerton
The Sussexes had their wedding reception at Frogmore Credit: Chris Allerton

The renovation took around six months and was completed shortly before the Duke and Duchess’ son Archie was born on May 6, but some works - including painting the exterior - will fall in the next financial year.

Frogmore Cottage, which is owned by the Crown Estate, was a gift from the Queen who has been “informed of the progress of the project”, a source said.

A similar refurbishment for Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace in 2013-4 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children ended up costing around £4.5 million across two financial years.

The Cambridge's official residence, previously the home of Princess Margaret, required major roof repairs and asbestos removal. The Duke and Duchess paid privately for a second family kitchen to supplement the "working kitchen" used for official events.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously lived at Nottingham Cottage, part of Kensington Palace
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously lived at Nottingham Cottage, part of Kensington Palace

While the Cambridge’s large apartment is private, other areas of the Kensington Palace building are given over to offices and used for official hosting and events, with other members of the family also residing there.

Frogmore Cottage is to be "the official and only residence" of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, used as their home while their staff are based at Buckingham Palace.

The cost of the remaining renovations will be reported next year only if it reaches a new £350,000 threshold for individual projects.

Until this year, the figure had been set at £250,000. Of the 176 building projects on the royal estate this year, 13 spent in excess of £350,000 to qualify as major works to be explained in greater details in the public report.