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London:
Britain’s Prince Harry has repaid the refurbishment price to the UK taxpayer of two.four million kilos for a cottage on the grounds of Queen Elizabeth II’s Windsor property, the household house he shares with spouse Meghan Markle.
Frogmore Cottage has an Indian connection relationship again to the Raj when it was introduced as a royal present to Abdul Karim by Queen Victoria, then Empress of India, as an indication of her affection for her Indian aide and confidant.
In 2018, the Queen introduced the cottage to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as a marriage present.
The couple lived within the cottage briefly with their new child child Archie earlier than completely transferring to the US earlier this yr as they stepped again as frontline royals. A spokesperson for Prince Harry confirmed on Monday that he has made a fee into the Sovereign Grant to cowl the taxpayer-funded refurbishment prices, a problem that had been performed up by sections of the British media.
“A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by the Duke of Sussex,” the spokesperson stated.
“This contribution, as originally offered by Prince Harry, has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty the Queen, and will remain the UK residence of the Duke and his family,” the spokesperson stated.
The announcement comes days after Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan struck a 112-million kilos cope with streaming big Netflix to create “content that informs but also gives hope”.
Frogmore Cottage is a Grade II listed historic property that Queen Victoria introduced to Adul Karim, whom the then monarch known as her “Munshi” and Urdu trainer.
He was simply 24 when he arrived in England from Agra to current Queen Victoria with a particular mohar or gold coin to mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887.
He rapidly grew near the ageing monarch, who bestowed many presents on him, together with the cottage.
“Queen Victoria gave it to Abdul Karim as a special gift. She would often visit the cottage and have tea with him and his wife. He had decorated the house with many exotic things, including presents given to him by European royalty,” stated Shrabani Basu, the creator of ‘Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant’.
“There is also a sad angle to the story. Hours after Queen Victoria’s funeral, the new king, Edward VII, ordered that all the letters written by his mother to Abdul Karim be seized from his house.
They were burnt in a bonfire outside Frogmore Cottage and Abdul Karim was ordered to return home,” stated Ms Basu, whose guide shaped the idea of the Oscar-nominated movie ‘Victoria and Abdul’ starring British star Judi Dench and Victoria and Indian actor Ali Fazal as Abdul.
The heritage cottage, which has been a favorite royal retreat for a few years, underwent the multi-million-pound refit for the newly-wed royals as a comfy household house and is predicted to stay their base after they go to UK in future.
It is ready throughout the peaceable and secluded Frogmore House property, close to Windsor Castle, surrounded by 35 acres of lush vegetation and Berkshire countryside. The property has its personal man-made Frogmore Lake and is house to the Royal Burial Ground and the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
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