Princess Eugenie to ‘remain’ at Windsor estate says expert
Frogmore Cottage was the home of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry before they stepped down as senior royals and moved to the US. It was at the centre of some controversy, because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had huge renovations paid for by the taxpayer. However, they later paid back the £2.4million after moving to California.
It emerged in November that Eugenie had come to a private arrangement with her cousin that she and her husband Jack Brooksbank would move into the now-empty house.
However, just six weeks later they moved out again without explanation.
It has been reported that she has now moved to The Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park with her parents Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York.
Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.
Princess Eugenie and her mother Sarah Ferguson (Image: GETTY)
Frogmore Cottage in Windsor is empty once again (Image: GETTY)
When asked about Eugenie and Jack’s living situation, Mr Myers explained that the couple spent some time at The Royal Lodge during a previous lockdown and really enjoyed it.
What’s more, Sarah ‒ affectionately known as Fergie ‒ loves being with her daughters and their spouses.
Eugenie, who is pregnant with her first child and due in early 2021, may have wanted to spend this time with her parents so they can help her during the later stages of her pregnancy.
Mr Myers said: “A couple of people I spoke to this week just said, ‘Listen, they spent some period of lockdown into the summer at The Royal Lodge with Fergie and Andrew and they just really really liked it.’
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank got married in October 2018 (Image: GETTY)
“I mean, Royal Lodge is quite big and it’s a very nice, swanky abode.
“Fergie loves being with the daughters and their spouses and they all had quite a lot of fun.
“And Andrew’s been bunkering down as well, we haven’t seen him because of obvious reasons to do with his scrapes with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that are ongoing, so he’s been keeping a very low profile.
“So they all had a jolly decent lockdown, if you can say that.
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Princess Eugenie with her sister Princess Beatrice and father Prince Andrew (Image: GETTY)
“I think when they moved out, they did intend to stay there for a period of time and Eugenie’s about to pop, she’s probably only a few weeks from giving birth ‒ we were told ‘early 2021’ so you would imagine by March.
“So I think they’ve just moved in for a bit of ease actually and when you’re heavily pregnant you probably need a bit of help moving around, don’t you?
“So they’re back in with her parents, Jack’s moved in with the in-laws and Fergie’s said before she loves living with Jack so it seems to be really happy families.”
Ms Gripper brought up the unavoidable issue of coronavirus and whether this might have affected their decision.
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She pointed out that if they had stayed at Frogmore Cottage, they would have been in a different household to Fergie and Andrew and so they could not have seen either of them except for one-on-one socially distanced walks.
When Eugenie goes into labour, they would not have been able to help her with this.
Now, they are part of the same household so they are able to do more things together.
However, it begs the question as to how far their move falls within the spirit of the rules if they have only moved in for this Covid loophole.
Ms Gripper said: “We should probably mention the C-word as well because, practically, in terms of the rules, Fergie and The Royal Lodge household are one household and if Eugenie and Jack had been at Frogmore Cottage they would have been another household.
“And theoretically at this time they would not have been allowed to meet up indoors or even outside.
“Eugenie could have gone for a walk with her mum at a two-metre distance, that would have been it.
“So there’s a lot of practical ‒ I don’t know what the rules are if your daughter is having your first grandchild, I mean you’re not meant to go essentially. That’s the rules!”
Mr Myers explained that if you have a child under one you can bubble up with another household, so once Eugenie has had her baby, perhaps they will move back into Frogmore.
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— to www.express.co.uk
