Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently living on a private mansion on Vancouver Island, Canada, with their son Archie. They have been receiving assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but things are going to change once they officially resigned as senior royals at the end of March.
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer be considered as an Internationally Protected Persons, the Canadian government refused to pay for the couple’s security bill. With that said, the amount spent on the safety of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be fully funded by UK taxpayers.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex choosing to relocate to Canada on a part-time basis presented our government with a unique and unprecedented set of circumstances,” Canada’s Office of the Minister of Public Safety said in a statement. “The RCMP has been engaged with officials in the UK from the very beginning regarding security considerations. As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognized as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis. At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019. The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s statement last week implied that UK taxpayers would pay for their security bill. The amount could soar up to £20million.
“It is agreed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son,” the statement read. “This is based on the Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into the Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess’s own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years.”
Meanwhile, even though Queen Elizabeth showed support to Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s decision, a lot of people were not happy with the announcement, especially some Canadians. Angry locals have told the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they are not welcome in their country.
Previously, Canada’s largest newspaper, The Globe and Mail, already slammed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s plan to live part-time in Canada. It said that the country is not a “halfway house” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex while they “work out their own personal issues.”
