bitchy | King Charles suddenly pretends he’s offering the Sussexes a palace apartment

Well well. Less than a week since King Charles’s minions leaked the news about evicting the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage, it looks like the palace is now trying to furiously backtrack. Of course, they’re still insisting that the Frogmore Cottage eviction is the bold decision of an effective and cost-conscious king, as opposed to an abusive move from a dogsh-t father hellbent on being as vindictive and petty as possible. But they’re trying to give excuses for why it’s really not that bad. They’ve now backed up to the point where the Sussexes have until autumn to move out of Frogmore (lol) and Charles will offer them an apartment in Buckingham Palace if and when they want to visit (lmao).

King Charles is set to offer Harry and Meghan an olive branch by allowing them to stay at Buckingham Palace when they visit Britain in the future, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to give up the keys to their previous British home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, later this year. But they may be offered Prince Andrew’s old suite in the Palace – where he once entertained the model Caprice and disgraced socialite Ghisaline Maxwell – whenever they need it.

It is the latest move in the complex merry-go-round of royal properties set in motion by the King’s plans to streamline the monarchy and remove perks from non-working Royals. It is understood Charles has offered Frogmore to Prince Andrew, who is reluctantly set to leave the 30-room Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor where he has lived for more than 20 years. Discussions are under way as to whether Prince William and his family might move into Royal Lodge – which is understood to require extensive renovations – once Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York leave.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children are currently living in the much smaller Adelaide Cottage in Windsor which is deemed ‘unsuitable’ long term despite the family being ‘very happy’ there. A source said Adelaide Cottage may be offered to Andrew’s youngest daughter, Eugenie, who is pregnant with her second child, who was previously renting Frogmore from her cousin Harry.

For years Andrew enjoyed the use of a suite at Buckingham Palace known as the Chamber Floor. But he lost his London bolthole after he was stripped of his military roles and royal patronages over his links to the disgraced child sex trafficker and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke of York’s belongings have been moved out of Buckingham Palace, including his collection of teddy bears and soft toys, which Palace staff had to arrange precisely on his bed each day. Removal vans have also been spotted on the Windsor Estate.

Harry and Meghan – who now live in a nine-bedroom £12 million house in Montecito, California, after quitting the Royal Family three years ago – have been told they have until the autumn to move any belongings out of Frogmore Cottage.

Last night, Palace sources said that the couple will still be invited to the King’s Coronation in May despite Harry’s outspoken criticism of his family in his memoir Spare.

[From The Daily Mail]

Charles is so stupid and so are his advisors, oh my god. They want it both ways – they wanted to give red meat to the British tabloids braying for Harry’s blood, but they also just figured out (48 hours ago) that evicting the Sussexes looked horrible internationally, and that the eviction became a global story which could not be contained with the palace’s open collusion with the British media. So now they’re going out of their way (not really) to sound diplomatic and fatherly – of course the Sussexes could have a palace apartment, don’t be silly and don’t ask when Charles offered them an apartment (I suspect he has not yet contacted them with the offer). If Charles actually wanted to announce the eviction and spin it reasonably, he would have made sure to package the BP apartment offer in the original leak. The reason he didn’t is because it’s a stop-gap measure dreamt up in recent days because the reaction to the eviction was so bad.

Again, this reshuffle was mostly (but not exclusively) about Prince William throwing a tantrum about Royal Lodge, a home he’s wanted for years. William and Kate are totally going to move into Royal Lodge, but not before an extensive and expensive renovation on the taxpayer’s dime. I doubt Eugenie will get Adelaide Cottage either – she and Jack already have one foot out the door and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this mansion drama convinces her to step back for good.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.