The Palace Responds After Harry And Meghan’s Renovation Plans Revealed
The Palace has released a statement after earlier today it emerged that the Harry and Meghan have submitted a retrospective planning application for the garden of their home, Frogmore Cottage.
Reportedly, Harry and Meghan have undertaken external landscaping works in their garden using a different design to the one the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council has already approved. So, they are now seeking retrospective planning permission.
The exact details of the changes are not clear. A letter about the couple’s plans submitted to the council by their project manager Ian Ratcliffe showed their wish to keep the plans private. However, that letter came to light after it was published by Mail Online.
Now, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace has responded: “The letter that was submitted to the council, and the language that was used, is standard for planning applications for all royal residences. In keeping with the usual process, the details are not released for security reasons.
“This was an amendment to a planning application which was previously approved. The work was privately funded.”
Not long ago, it was revealed that the refurbishment of the cottage costs £2.4 million. The amount was heavily criticised by some UK taxpayers. However, Buckingham Palace shared that all fixtures and fittings for the property were paid for privately by Harry and Meghan. And according to today’s statement, they are also funding their own renovation plans for their garden.
The letter written by project manager Ian Ratcliffe says: “We consider that national security could be compromised if public access is given to the plans, other drawings and documents relating to this project, either in the offices of this council or on the council website where they could be viewed and copied.
“Furthermore, copies of the plans and other documents should not be sent to statutory consultees.”
“Therefore, for reasons of national security, we would appreciate if this application could be treated as confidential and not be allowed to enter the public domain owing to the nature of the works and their location. And (we) would re-affirm that this application is submitted on the basis that the accompanying plans, drawings and other documents are not released into the public domain either in your offices or on your website.”