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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been blasted as “arrogant” for assuming they would keep royal security after fleeing the UK — which would have cost taxpayers an estimated $5.5 million each year, according to the former top royal cop.
“It shows you their naivety and sense of entitlement,” retired chief superintendent Dai Davies, who headed the UK’s royalty protection unit, told the Daily Mail.
“It was simply arrogant to presume they and their baby would get protection.”
The couple both complained in their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview about losing their royal security detail, with Harry saying it came at “short notice” and was why they rushed their move from Canada to California after Tyler Perry offered security along with his mansion.
But the astronomical costs of security was one of the first points of contention days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were quitting royal duties — especially after they bragged that they would be “financially independent.”
It also sparked diplomatic spats, with Canadians outraged at being expected to also pay millions toward it — and then-President Trump adamant that the US would not help once the Sussexes moved to California.
Davies said that he was “gobsmacked” that the couple expected taxpayers to keep paying.
“It was utterly unrealistic to think they could continue to have their royal protection team working in America – in fact it would have put [police] lives at risk,” he said.
He noted that British police are only allowed to protect royals in the US as part of a “reciprocal agreement” for “occasions like official state visits.”
“But British officers couldn’t just carry on working there, unable to bear firearms and with no access to integrated intelligence from the security services,” he said. “It was unworkable.”
The concerns already in place in Canada — where the government said it would stop helping with security “in keeping with their change in status” — were then confounded when the Sussexes moved to California, celebrity bodyguard Russell Stuart told the Mail.
The residence of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is seen in the Deep Cove neighborhood from a boat on the Saanich Inlet in North Saanich, British Columbia.
Mark Goodnow/AFP via Getty Images
A shielded gate marking the entrance of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s temporary estate in North Saanich.
Alia Dharssi/AFP via Getty Images
A view from the beach near the temporary North Saanich home of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.
Alia Dharssi/AFP via Getty Images
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