When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals on January 2020, they faced a lot of challenges and controversies. However, based on the financial records released on Thursday, June 24, Prince Charles financially supported the couple.
The records were released by Clarence House which is the Prince of Wales’ office. The financial accounts covered all expenses from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Based on the report, his sons Prince William and Harry and their families received a sum of $6.3 million for “official expenditure”. However, the report didn’t specify the exact amount received by each family member.
This report is contradictory to what Prince Harry mentioned during the couple’s controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey last March. Harry said that he was financially cut off by his dad after they broke from the royal family. The couple announced their decision to step down from their royal duties in January 2020 and in March 2020, they stopped being working members. This came before the new fiscal year started.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex explained to Vanity Fair, “The Duke’s comments during the Oprah interview were in reference to the first quarter of the fiscal reporting period in the U.K., which starts annually in April. This is the same date that the ‘transitional year’ of the Sandringham agreement began and is aligned with the timeline that Clarence House referenced.”
In addition, the financial records claimed that Harry and Meghan rented the Frogmore Cottage for $3.3 million. This is where the couple and their son Archie stayed in September last year. They already made the payment before relocating to California and the residence will remain licensed to them until March 31 next year.
On the other hand, Clarence House confirmed to BBC through their spokesperson that Prince Charles has already ceased giving financial support to Harry and Meghan since 2020. He said, “That funding ceased in the summer of last year. The couple are now financially independent.”
Harry and Meghan welcomed their second child recently, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, and in honor of her late grandmother the Princess of Wales.
