Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Renovating Again After Initial $3 Million Backlash?

They’ve already been criticized heavily not only for how much money they spent on renovating their home but their attempts to keep several elements of their lives shrouded with privacy. However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be staring at another situation that will earn them even harsher critiques because it affects both of those prior issues.

According to The Daily Mail, there was a planning error involved with the couple’s Frogmore Cottage garden design and they were forced to apply for retrospective planning permission that was different from their already approved design. However, the move has also been shrouded in secrecy as well—with the secrecy cited as necessary for “national security” fears.

In a letter submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council about the couple’s plans, Ian Ratcliffe, project manager at the Royal Household, warned that the proposals for the couple's home needed to be kept secret as a matter of national security.

“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,” he wrote.

A second royal source seconded the need for secrecy while also admitting that the changes to the plans are minor.

“The building services department had to make a minor amendment to the landscaping of the property—which was out of everyone’s control—but as it was a change to the agreed plans, it was, unfortunately, necessary to re-submit them,” an insider said. “As the proposals include layouts of the house and garden, building services ask as a matter of necessity that they are not made public for reasons of security.”

However, the secrecy is likely to cause issues for the couple, who already faced criticism for keeping details of their son, Archie Harrison’s, christening private.

However, if work needs to be done once again on their home because the application is refused, it could pose another problem for the couple, who already received criticism over their initial renovations costing £2.4 million in taxpayer money, as ripping up the work that’s been done and changing it will cost additional money.

Among the couple’s proposed plans are an organic vegetable plot, a kitchen garden and £20,000 of shrubs, hedges or trees.

It is noted however that most of the outdoor work, including landscaping, would be reportedly paid for by the couple, while the cost of some of the work like exterior repainting is believed to fall under a five-year royal repair program. Whether or not that involves taxpayer funding is unclear.