Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Will Stay at Frogmore Cottage

Update 1/18: Buckingham Palace has released an official statement with details of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's next steps. The statement confirms that Frogmore Cottage will continue to be their family's home in the United Kingdom and explains that they hope to take over some financial responsibilities for the property.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home," the statement says.

Original post: In a bombshell statement released Wednesday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they're effectively quitting the royal family, with plans to become financially independent and split their time between the U.K. and North America. Their primary U.K. residence, Frogmore Cottage, underwent a $3 million renovation before Archie's birth—so will they stay there now they're no longer "senior" members of the royal family?

Short answer: Yes. On their website, which has had a serious makeover in light of the news, Harry and Meghan address the question directly.

Here's Frogmore Cottage:

The Duke and Duchess chose to move out of their former residence at Kensington Palace last year. There was speculation at that time that Harry and Meghan were moving away from KP (where Prince William and Kate Middleton live) because of a rift between the Sussexes and the Cambridges, but information on the Sussex Royal website gives a different reason: renovation issues.

At present, Harry and Meghan have a small team of staff working for them at Frogmore, though this will almost certainly change when they begin to split their time between North America and the U.K. It's not clear whether they'll continue to employ the same staff as they move toward financial independence.

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