Lawsuit Claims Designer Dumped New York Client For Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
A new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court accuses Soho House interior decorator Vicky Charles of ditching an affluent New York client in favor of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Frogmore Cottage.
According to The New York Post, Andrea Olshan, CEO of Olshan Properties, was left in the lurch by Charles when she walked off Olshan’s job. Charles admitted that she was too focused on her work in the U.K. and needed to resign, however, she refused to refund the $239,000 she had already been paid to complete Olshan’s work.
Olshan then learned that Charles had taken the job with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to renovate Frogmore Cottage, which was a $3 million project renovating the 200-year-old cottage in Windsor with an eco-boiler and vegan paint.
The baby’s room has a gray and white paint scheme “with paint infused with rosemary and eucalyptus oils.”
Olshan’s lawsuit stated that when Charles focused on her work for the royals, she stopped working on her prior project in East Hampton, New York, where she was tasked to create a “move-in ready” home. She was contracted to design every aspect of the house, down to the silverware, linens, and cutlery.
Charles claims that she works on every client’s project, but Olshan said her work was farmed out to “underlings fresh out of design school.”
Curious what the interior of Frogmore Cottage might look like? We look at the past work of @SohoHouse's Interior Designer (whom H&M have hired to decorate Frogmore) for inspiration today #ontheblog https://t.co/wrh64JQytK pic.twitter.com/moWyzKskHC
— Meghans Mirror (@MeghansMirror) August 23, 2019
Olshan explained in her lawsuit that after a year on the job, Charles hadn’t even presented a color scheme, and showed images downloaded from the internet as “style inspiration.”
The client then named Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the lawsuit.
“Instead, Ms. Charles, by all appearances, began to separate herself from the project, upon information and belief, to work for more ‘A-list’ clients such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
Olshan explains that when she confronted Charles, the designer was very apologetic, but quit the next day without returning the deposit. A representative for Charles declined to comment, saying that part of her contract prohibits her from speaking about her clients.
Granted, Frogmore Cottage was a huge project which is still being tweaked, including a rebuilding of the full security system and plans for the entire Windsor property, states The Inquisitr. For security purposes, even the landscaping is being reevaluated, as experts have concerns that the tree-lined Long Walk at Windsor provides areas of concern.
Experts are suggesting a new planting program to be started immediately, with new signage stopping visitors to the Windsor estate from wandering freely. New signage has been posted around Windsor Castle, Frogmore Cottage, and Frogmore House warning the public against the flying or use of drones on the property in bold letters.
