- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced Wednesday that they will quit their roles as senior members of the royal family.
- They said as part of this they would seek "financial independence" and stop taking money from the UK taxpayer.
- However, the decision to cut loose from taxpayer funding came after benefiting from a significant expense: the renovation of the historic Frogmore Cottage as their official residence.
- The work cost £2.4 million ($3 million), and Harry and Meghan say they intend to keep living there.
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On announcing their intention to quit the top ranks of the British monarchy to chart their own path, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said they would seek "financial independence."
Specifically, they said, they will stop taking money given to the royals by the British taxpayer, known as the Sovereign Grant.
However, they made the decision after benefiting from a renovation to Frogmore Cottage, their home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which cost British taxpayers £2.4 million (around $3 million).
They moved to cottage in spring 2019, after deciding to leave Kensington Palace in central London around the time of their son's birth.
The renovation involved combining five smaller residential units to serve as a single home and base for the couple, as described in the official 2018-2019 accounts for the Sovereign Grant.
The work included installing new fireplaces, removing a chimney, building new stairs, and installing a "floating" wooden floor, according to planning documents cited by CNN.
Works including the removal of a chimney, re-finishing the roof, new staircases, fireplace installations and a new "floating" wooden floor, were detailed in planning application documents to the local council
As well as the work covered by the taxpayer, the couple, who hold the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, paid themselves for fittings and furniture in the residence.
At the time, as senior "working" royals, who carry out a large number of public engagements, they were eligible to have the taxpayer cover the costs, though that did not stop the expenditure provoking criticism.
In their new role, described by the Sussexes on Wednesday in a public statements, they aim to give up the income from the Sovereign Grant and instead earn a "professional income" for themselves.
They did not specify what kind of work they hope to do to support themselves.
The Sussexes also said that most of their day-to-day costs — 95% — are covered by the private wealth of Harry's father, Prince Charles, rather than the Sovereign Grant. They did not say whether they would give up that money.
On their official website, the Sussexes, seeming to defend the way they benefited from the refurbishment, noted that they do not own Frogmore Cottage, which is still the property of the Queen, who lets them live there.
They said they intend to keep using the residence as their base in the UK.
As reported by Insider's Samantha Grindell, the Sussexes did not appear to have agreed their new plan in advance with Buckingham Palace, the Queen's official household, which seemed to be caught off-guard.
There are still a lot of blanks to be filled in about how the Sussexes' new role will work in practice.
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