Who will be paying for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security costs now they've moved to LA?

'Protecting any royal is complex at the best of times, but a high profile member of the British Royal family (who has served in Afghanistan) is quite another issue'
1/82
Megan C. Hills30 March 2020

Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would be stepping down as senior royals, questions have been raised about the couple's multi-million pound security arrangements.

A Twitter survey conducted by Good Morning Britain found 90% of respondents believe Harry and Meghan's security should not be funded by British taxpayers.

The Sussex family, who recently relocated to Los Angeles from Canada , were even the subject of a tweet by President Donald Trump.

Trump said he had no intention of paying for their security: "I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom" he tweeted, "it was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!"

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are transitioning away from royal life
PA

Hours later, the Sussexes confirmed via a spokesperson that they were "privately funding" their own security.

The spokesperson said, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have no plans to ask the US government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made."

Previously, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force and Canadian taxpayers were initially footing the bill for Sussex security in Canada.

Following protests, the Canadian government announced it would stop providing security to the Sussexes once they stepped down as senior royals “in keeping with their change in status.”

Getty Images

The question remains now: who is going to help protect Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their son Archie?

We spoke with Intelligent Protection, a firm which specialises in commercial Royalty Protection and whose employees include former royal protection officers.

Alex Bomberg, the company’s group CEO, explained it was highly unlikely they would be able to hire a commercial security firm due to “many legal barriers” - especially due to their jet-setting lifestyle.

Getty Images

Bomberg said, “From the off, I think that it is important to look at what is and what is not possible or feasible in relation to commercial Close Protection for The Duke and Duchess. I cannot see how a commercial firm could provide them with armed Close Protection, there are far too many legal barriers.”

Members of the Royal Family have in the past been the target of assassination attempts, terrorist attacks and kidnappings.

In 1994, royal protection officers protected Prince Charles from an assassination attempt in Sydney when an armed man stormed the stage.

The family have started a new life in Canada
Getty Images

In 2014, an alleged Islamic terrorist attack on Queen Elizabeth was thwarted ahead of a Remembrance Day ceremony.

Ken Wharfe, Princess Diana’s former personal protection officer, said today on Good Morning Britain that there was a “real risk of kidnap” when it came to the Sussexes’ son Archie.

Bomberg explained that providing protection for Prince Harry in particular would be a big job, especially as he was once stationed in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter pilot where he fought and killed members of the Taliban.

Getty Images

Bomberg said, “Protecting any Royal is complex at the best of times, but a high profile member of the British Royal family (who has served in Afghanistan) is quite another issue.”

The Royal Family have not disclosed how much their security costs, with a statement on Gov.uk reading, “No breakdown of security costs is available as disclosure of such information could compromise the integrity of these arrangements and affect the security of the individuals protected.”

It is estimated to cost £100 million a year for the entire Royal Family, with protection provided by a special branch of the Metropolitan Police Service called Royalty and Specialist Protection.

After Wharfe was told on GMB that the Sussexes protection is estimated to cost £20 million, he agreed with the estimate and revealed that a personal protection officer is typically paid £100,000 per year.

Getty Images

Prince Harry, Meghan and Archie would require two officers each at a minimum, with additional costs incurred regarding travel, accommodation and more.

In contrast, the commercial Royal Protection Services that Bomberg’s company offers costs upwards of £15,000 per day. For those who require daily round the clock protection, that number quickly reaches a staggering £5,475,000 a year.

The service includes security trained chauffeurs, a discreet intelligence cell and technical surveillance countermeasures to combat listening devices for example.

AP

Bomberg said, “The only real option would be to make use of a commercial firm to support the Residential Security whilst utilising the present security afforded to them by the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP). Tony Blair has a set up where he pays for an element of the protection that he uses when he is taking part in commercial activities.”

However, even that may even be a stretch as the Sussexes would require international protection (especially as the pair are dividing their time between Canada and the UK) and top-secret security information can’t be shared with just anybody.

Bomberg said, “The Duke and Duchess are living a lifestyle where they are constantly crossing borders and it would not be possible or realistic for a commercial firm to obtain all the firearms licenses required. Also, one has to consider the intelligence support provided to RaSP, this is not commercially available nor would information sharing to a commercial firm be on the cards any time soon I would expect.”

Getty Images

He continued, “The Duchess does have a relationship with a firm in Canada who provided her with Close Protection whilst she was living in Canada filming Suits. It is probable that if a firm is involved in providing on the ground commercial support, it will be that firm.”

Wharfe completely ruled out turning to a private security firm, citing the car chase that ended Princess Diana’s life as an example.

He said, “We know what happened with Diana in 1997, because of the inefficient security that was afforded her at that time, we cannot go down the private sector here, because with security you need access to government intelligence in this country and abroad.

Getty Images

As senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security was paid for by British taxpayers and was additionally supplemented by Canadian taxpayers while there.

However with the Sussexes set to step down from their roles at the end of the month, the Canadian government announced, “As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognised as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis. The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status.”

Prince Harry’s father, the Prince of Wales, is set to offer the couple financial assistance as they find their feet which could help cover security costs. However, it is not known if this will stem from his £21 million Duchy of Cornwall income or another private revenue stream.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II pose for a picture during the Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Wharfe suggested another avenue that the Royal Family could explore, saying, “Given the fact that the Queen subsidises the security given to Beatrice and Eugenie, now is the time to look at the Queen herself, or even [Prince Charles], should subsidise this security bill.”

Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, turned down royal protection following her divorce from Prince Charles and opted for private security.

Former Scotland Yard Chief Superindendent Dai Davies told the Daily Mail he believed she would not have died in a Parisian car accident had she continued to use Met protection.

Meghan and Harry greet fans in Melbourne, Australia, in October last year
Getty Images

He said, “I believe Princess Diana would not have died in those circumstances that night had she been accompanied by a police protection officer.Things would have been done differently, more professionally. There would have been a lot of planning ahead of the trip in terms of the route and potential security risks.”

Hear more in this episode of The Leader podcast:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to formally step down from their roles on March 31.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in