Prince Harry and Meghan Markle repay taxpayers for cottage renovations

The costs had originally been paid by the Sovereign Grant, the U.K. fund for royals.

Prince Harry has repaid the millions in British taxpayers’ money that was used to renovate he and wife Meghan Markle’s home in Windsor. 

Harry is said to have “fully covered”  the costs that had originally been paid by the Sovereign Grant, the U.K. fund for royals courtesy of taxpayers, per PEOPLE

“A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by the Duke of Sussex,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement. “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 U.K. residence of the Duke and his family.”

Read More: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry sign multiyear deal with Netflix

“It is an important step that they have wanted to take,” says a source of the couple’s decision to repay British taxpayers. “It is something they have proactively wanted to do since the word go. They have taken the initiative to do so.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry thegrio.com
Members Of The Royal Family Attend Events To Mark The Centenary Of The RAF LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 10: (L-R) Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex on July 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties earlier this year and fled London to settle in Los Angeles. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California, and last week announced a deal with Netflix that’s reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. The partnership will see the couple produce documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows, and children’s programming, theGRIO previously reported.

“Our lives, both independent of each other, and as a couple have allowed us to understand the power of the human spirit: of courage, resilience, and the need for connection,” Meghan and Harry said in a statement. “Through our work with diverse communities and their environments, to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope.”

They added, “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us, as is powerful storytelling through a truthful and relatable lens. We are pleased to work with Ted and the team at Netflix whose unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.”

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