Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Frogmore Cottage Staff Has Been 'Redeployed' Amid Royal Exit
Royal staff members who have been working at the Windsor home of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are being redeployed, PEOPLE confirms.
As the couple continues their negotiations with the palace about how to manage their departure from their roles as senior working members of the royal family, the staff at their Frogmore Cottage home is being moved to different posts.
No one has been made redundant or let go, but a royal source confirms to PEOPLE that staff are regularly redeployed around the estate during quieter periods. This also happened when the couple headed to Canada in November and December.
The story was first reported by the Daily Mail, which said that a house manager and a cleaner had been moved to other duties within the royal household. The couple used other members of the wider staff — such as chefs, maids and footmen — as they needed them.
Meghan, 38, is back in Canada with the couple’s 8-month-old son Archie after briefly returning to the U.K. last week, just before the couple made their bombshell announcement that they plan to step down from their senior royal roles. Harry, 35, is still in the U.K. as he continues discussions and meeting around the couple’s exit.
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Meghan and Harry have revealed that they are planning a move to North America.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” they said in a statement. “This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”
With an impending move to North America in the works, what will happen to the royal parents’ newly renovated Frogmore Cottage? The young family moved into their Windsor home, which was given to them by the Queen, last April, just weeks before welcoming baby Archie — and they plan to keep it as a residence for the foreseeable future.
“Frogmore Cottage will continue to be the property of Her Majesty the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to use Frogmore Cottage – with the permission of Her Majesty The Queen – as their official residence as they continue to support the Monarchy, and so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom,” the couple shared on their official website SussexRoyal.com.
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On Monday, Queen Elizabeth made an emotional statement about the couple’s decision, saying that she reluctantly agreed to the couple’s wish to seek a more independent future. “The Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK,” during a transition as the complexities were still being worked out, she said.
Since returning to Vancouver, Meghan has been making unannounced visits to some women’s charities. On Tuesday, she made an appearance at Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, where she discussed “issues affecting women in the community,” and stopped by the headquarters of Justice for Girls — a charity that promotes women’s rights and helps provide young girls with access to advocacy and education. There, she discussed “climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous peoples.”
Harry, who undertook what was thought to be his last public duty at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, will remain in the U.K. as he attend a series of meetings, which will continue into early next week, PEOPLE has learned.
