Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Pay Back U.K. Taxpayer For Home Renovation

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid back the $3.2 million used to restore Frogmore Cottage and will continue to use it as a residence.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have paid back the $3.2 million (£2.4 million) of U.K. taxpayers' money that was spent on renovating their British residence Frogmore Cottage.

Fresh from inking a content deal with Netflix, the Sussexes have moved to pay back the renovation money after pointed criticism from the British tabloids since they announced they would "step back" as senior members of the British royal family in January and moved to Montecito, near Santa Barbara in California.

A spokesman for Prince Harry told the Guardian: "A contribution has been made to the sovereign grant [the source of funding to the royal family] by the Duke of Sussex."

"This contribution as originally offered by Prince Harry has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty the Queen, and will remain the U.K. residence of the duke and his family."

Last week, the duke and duchess signed a multiyear overall deal at Netflix. The deal will cover scripted and unscripted TV series, documentaries, feature films and kids' programming.