Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made mistake with expense release - 'Would have helped'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spent £2.4million in taxpayers' money to renovate their new home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into the Berkshire property

shortly before the birth of their son, Archie, and has obtained permission for extensive refurbishment plans. The publication of the royal expense records provoked the fury of members of

the public concerned about the use Meghan and Harry have been making of their taxes but royal butler Grant Harrold suggested the couple, and the rest of the Royal Family, could avoid

backlash by making the records "clearer" to understand. 

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Harrold said: "You can understand, if they decided on a renovation that is going to cost a couple of millions for a castle or a palace, people would say it’s

extreme but they can understand it – but £2.4million for a cottage, that doesn’t really make sense.

"What would have been good in the report is if there were details so we would know exactly who the £2.4million was for.

"I struggled to understand the accounts and so I’d say it would be better if they had been more transparent, a bit clearer.

"I’m sure people out there can understand it. It just needs to be written in a way the public understand exactly where the money is going and what it’s used for."

READ MORE: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry blasted over Frogmore Cottage renovation cost - 'Sick joke'

He added: "Going forward it’s vital that these kinds of things are made a bit clearer because like anybody in Britain that spends money wants to know where that money is going, is it being

used for the right reason and how much it is costing."

Royal accounts have revealed £2.4million has been spent in renovations to their new five-bedroom home, and has exceeded earlier unofficial estimates that taxpayers would be asked to stump up

around £1.5 million of the then forecast total cost of £3million.

A royal source said most of the work included replacing defective wooden ceiling beams and floor joists.

The home also needed electrical rewiring, as well as its own electrical substation, and new gas and water mains.

The Keeper of the Privy Purse, Michael Stevens, said Frogmore Cottage had been earmarked for redevelopment before Meghan and Harry were given the property as a wedding gift by the Queen.

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Sir Michael explained why the money came from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant.

He said: “The Sovereign Grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family.

“The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property.

“Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by Their Royal Highnesses.”

Meghan and Harry have been granted planning permission to paint the outside of heir house this summer with taxpayers’ money. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also landscape the gardens

but will take the money out of their own pockets.

Palace sources have denied reports that the house has been equipped with a mother-and-baby yoga room, complete with a floating or sprung floor, for Meghan and the couple’s seven-week-old

son, Archie.

But they have conceded that the couple may have paid out of their own pockets for luxury bathrooms and kitchens kitted out to a higher specification than the Royal Household allows for in

its judgement of what is acceptable for the taxpayer to fund.

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