Princess Eugenie moves into Prince Harry and Meghan's Frogmore Cottage

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have handed the keys to Frogmore Cottage, their UK home, to Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, it was confirmed on Friday night.

While the five-bedroom property on the Windsor estate will remain the couple’s UK residence, they are said to be “delighted” to be able to open it up to pregnant Princess Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank as they start their own family.

The Sussexes will retain financial responsibility for the property and plan to stay there, alongside Princess Eugenie’s family, when they are in the UK.

The two couples are known to be close, spending Halloween together at Meghan’s home in Toronto in 2016.

Frogmore is just a short drive from Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, home to the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, meaning that the arrangement will allow the new grandparents plenty of access when their daughter gives birth to her first child early next year.

The Sussexes  have already repaid in full the £2.4 million of public money spent renovating the cottage, which was gifted to them by the Queen when they married in 2018 but remains part of the Crown Estate.

It remains unclear whether Princess Eugenie, 30, will pay rent on the property.

The “private agreement” is understood to have been discussed with members of the Royal Family.

The decision is a clear signal that the Duke and Duchess have no intention to move back to the UK.

The couple are already understood to be looking at schools near their new home in Montecito, California, for their son Archie and have signed a lucrative deal with Netflix.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Frogmore is the private residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex  and any arrangements are a matter for them.”