Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have been asked to "vacate" their UK residence.
A spokesperson for the couple said a "request" had been made for them to give up Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle in England.
The spokesperson said: "We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage."
Reports have claimed the move was sanctioned by Harry's father, King Charles III.
File photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture by: DPPA/SIPA USA/PA ImagesIt comes weeks after Prince Harry's book 'Spare' was released, which revealed deep rifts between him and the rest of the British royal family.
Revelations from his book and subsequent interviews include him asking his father not to marry Camilla, Meghan not being invited to Balmoral when Queen Elizabeth II died last September; and claims his brother physically attacked him.
London-based journalist Vincent McAviney told Newstalk Breakfast the timing on this is curious.
"I think timing is everything with this," he said.
"We can read into the fact that it was just 24 hours before Harry's memoir was released.
"It has opened up a lot of wounds within the family once again.
"It does seem as though they've made this move to say, 'Fine - you've built your new life in America and that's it'.
"The cottage was gifted to Harry and Meghan on their wedding by the late Queen".
Vincent said this could be seen as taking away a final 'bridge' between Harry and his family.
"It is in the protected area of Windsor, which is something that allies of the couple are citing," he said.
"When they came back to the UK, this is somewhere they could feel safe.
"It does kind of remove a bit of a bridge in terms of rebuilding relations with the royal family, if they simply don't have a home to come and spend time [in]," he added.
A general view of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, England. Picture by: Steve Parsons / PA Images / Alamy Stock PhotoThe cottage is made up of 10 bedrooms and was gifted to the couple by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Harry and Meghan did up the property in 2018 at a cost of around €2.7 million - which was initially covered by UK taxpayer money.
However, the couple later paid back the money in full.
In 2020, the pair left their roles as working members of the royal family and moved to California.
Listen back to the full interview below:
Additional reporting: IRN
