Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had a security breach at their home in Montecito, California, in 2020. Police were alerted to the intruder on their gated mansion, who trespassed on the Sussex home two times.
According to reports, the intruder Nickolas Brooks was seen on the grounds of Harry and Meghan's sprawling property on Christmas eve. Security saw him and was escorted outside with the help of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office.
Brooks was warned not to return to Harry and Meghan's home. However, two days after he was caught, the intruder did come back and is now facing charges of misdemeanor trespassing.
Sources also said that this was not a random intrusion as Brooks specifically drove to California from his hometown 2,400 miles away in Ohio to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It was not clear, however, why he wanted to see Harry and Meghan or if the couple had been at home with their son, Archie, during the breach.
This incident over the holidays might explain why Harry and Meghan are bent on getting more security. This was one of the major issues they raised during the interview with Oprah Winfrey.
After the Sussexes left their royal duties in 2020, Buckingham Palace pulled out their security details in North America. The contention was that their security can no longer be shouldered by the taxpayers since they are not working royals anymore. Members of their protection team were also allowed to go home to their families in London than to continue working for the Sussexes in Canada, then later in the U.S.
According to the Taxpayers Alliance in the U.K., if Harry and Meghan could not continue with their royal obligation, they lose their publicly-funded security privileges. Their plan to live outside of the U.K. while still enjoying royal protection courtesy of the people was not realistic. Canada, where the Sussex lived from the first few months after they stepped back, and the United States said they will not shoulder Harry and Meghan's security details.
However, Harry told Winfrey that he never expected his security removed since he was "born into this position" as a son of a future monarch. The couple claimed that Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry helped them get settled in California.
The Duke of Sussex said that they had to find a way to retain security with private funding since he was also cut-off by Prince Charles. A friend suggested to Harry to strike a deal with Netflix and Spotify. Harry and Meghan scored multimillion, multi-year deals with the media giants.
