'THEY should pay!' British taxpayers' fury as £20m bill for Prince Harry and Megan Markle's security bill falls entirely on UK after Canada refuses to pay it after Megxit
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been protecting the couple and Archie
- Protection will cease in weeks as the pair officially step back from royal duties
- Comes after weeks of speculations that Canadian taxpayers would pay for them
- It is estimated their security costs had rocketed to £20 million after the move
- The prospect of UK taxpayer funding for private citizens prompted anger today
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were facing an angry backlash today as their £20million security bill looks set to fall squarely on British taxpayers after Canada refused to keep paying.
Canadian police confirmed last night it would stop guarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they step down as working royals and become private citizens after Megxit on March 31.
This means the cost of round-the-clock protection for the couple and baby Archie will fall to the taxpayer-funded Met Police, despite the couple leaving the UK for North America. The force refused to comment on whether the couple would contribute any private funds.
Royal expert Phil Dampier today attacked the new set-up, arguing the couple should not receive public money for security when they become private citizens with their own income, which is set to be millions of pounds a year.
'It was only a matter of time before the Canadians stopped paying for their security because they're no longer working royals and now obviously the burden will fall on British taxpayers,' he told MailOnline.
'The public will be angry at having to pay for this when they're not spending time in the UK or contributing to the royal family. The costs will become unsustainable - they will soon have to start paying for themselves.'
The Taxpayers' Alliance said: 'The Duke and Duchess of Sussex can't have it both ways: either they're working royals with the obligations which that entails, or they're private citizens seeking independence.'
Meghan Markle is pictured above taking her two dogs for a walk with baby Archie with Canadian security guards
UKIP founder Alan Sked was among social media users who today attacked the idea of British taxpayers footing Meghan and Harry's security costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pictured above earlier this month. It is said that costs to keep the couple safe are continuing to soar
Prince Harry is pictured above leaving Victoria International Airport in Victoria
Harry and Meghan's travels this year and where they are expected to be going in March
It is the first time Canada has confirmed it has been helping to guard Harry and Meghan since they settled on Vancouver Island last November. But last night it announced this would cease from April in keeping with their 'change in status'.
Canada has a legal obligation to provide security to so-called internationally protected persons.
The Sussexes arrived there on a temporary visit in November as full working royals, and the Mounties gave them protection as they always have on such visits – with Canadian taxpayers picking up the bill.
But now Harry and Meghan intend to live in North America to pursue lucrative commercial careers and will quit as senior working royals on March 31.
The prospect of UK taxpayers footing the bill sparked anger on social media today.
UKIP founder Alan Sked wrote: 'So Canada will no longer pay the security bill for Harry and Meghan. We should certainly pay to protect them while in the UK or while representing the Queen abroad. But if they want to be independent celebrities in North America, shouldn't they pay for their own security there?'
And Twitter user Colin Murphy commented: 'Of course they should pay. Since marrying Meghan H has become an arrogant money grabber. I used to respect his hard work and genuine care for our "heroes". Now he's disrespecting the British Public to feather Meghan's nest. Go Harry, pay security!'
Taxpayers currently pay £600,000 for the Sussexes' team of royal protection officers, who each cost around £100,000 for their salary, overtime, overseas allowance, pensions, flights and accommodation.
But costs will rise greatly when the couple move overseas, with an internal memo seen by The Mirror predicting the couple would need at least 12 protection officers to cover them on their trips, which are often made apart.
The Met Police calculated the total annual bill could rise to £20m, according to the report.
Graham Smith, from Republic, said Harry and Meghan should have to fund their own security after becoming 'private citizens'.
'We're currently being asked to pay for their security where they're doing private engagements and earnings, which is unacceptable,' he said. 'They're going to be in Canada and often not together so the costs are going to be astronomical.'
There are precedents covering their own costs, with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson paying for a team of former Met officers to protect their daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice.
Princess Diana also paid for her own security costs, although many experts say her decision to abandon Scotland Yard professionals may have contributed to her death in a car chauffeured by a drunk driver.
In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said yesterday: '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.
'The RCMP has been engaged with officials in the UK from the very beginning regarding security considerations.
'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.
'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.'
Buckingham Palace said today: 'We do not comment on the details of security arrangements. There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security.'
Prince Harry greets Justin Trudeau in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in London during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018. Mr Trudeau had previously promised that the couple would be safe when in Canada
The Duchess of Sussex, then Meghan Markle, speaks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the One Young World summit in Ottowa in September 2016. Mr Trudeau previously said that any security arrangements for the couple would be confidential
Harry and Meghan spent their first Christmas with baby Archie at this £10million waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island in Canada
The decision puts the globe-trotting couple in a potentially explosive predicament.
As recently as last Friday, when they updated their personal website, the Sussexes were adamant they are legally entitled to year-round police protection.
In a statement they said: 'It is agreed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son.
'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.'
But with Canada now refusing to help, the responsibility for protecting the Sussexes will be placed solely at the feet of the Metropolitan Police – and UK taxpayers.
The only other option would be for the couple to agree to pay for their own security guards.
Some have suggested they might accept the kind of arrangement favoured by Tony Blair, who pays for his own bodyguards for lucrative foreign business trips.
But the duke and duchess appear unwilling to do this, given the strength of their recent statement. Dai Davies, who led the Met's royalty protection unit, said: 'It's the first time in 300 years of royalty protection that anyone has ever done this to a member of the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex released this photograph of him with baby Archie on New Year's Eve, while the family were in Canada
Police in Canada have today revealed that they will stop paying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security costs after the pair officially step back from royal life (the couple are pictured above in London last month)
The couple insisted in their statement last week that they need security 'to protect them and their son' amid controversy surrounding protection costs
'Just call me Harry!': Prince DROPS his royal title as he returns to Britain without Meghan to launch an eco-friendly tourism firm in Edinburgh - after arriving by train
The Duke of Sussex this week embarked on his final round of engagements as a senior working royal as he launched a new eco-friendly travel firm in Edinburgh - and asked delegates 'just to call him Harry'.
Prince Harry, who will step down as a senior royal in less than five weeks, is in the Scottish capital for a 'working summit' of the Travalyst partnership, which will feature a grading system for users to track their carbon emissions.
Before he took to the stage on Wednesday, host Ayesha Hazarika, a former Labour adviser, said: 'He's made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry. So ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, warm, Scottish welcome to Harry.'
Asking to be addressed simply as Harry, he said the industry in Scotland was at the forefront of making the sector greener
Harry flew to Britain from Canada on a commercial flight earlier this week and arrived in Edinburgh on an eco-friendly LNER train from London King's Cross station, with taxpayer-funded Scotland Yard bodyguards.
The 35-year-old Duke, who is officially known as the Earl of Dumbarton when in Scotland, has been stung by criticism over the past six months of his frequent use of private jets while campaigning on environmental issues.
'There are two options now for them and us: that the Met will carry on guarding them and footing the bill, which is unacceptable to many, or they agree a system where they make a contribution to the costs personally.
'But their statement doesn't seem to suggest they would wish to do that. With budgets straining at the moment, this is a huge problem that the Met will have to get a grip on and quickly.'
It was previously reported that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had given the UK a commitment that his government would contribute to the costs, although this was never confirmed. Recent polls found that only one in five Canadians believes paying for the couple's security is an appropriate use of state funds.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation delivered an 80,000-signature petition to Mr Trudeau's office opposing footing the bill. There has been similar opposition in the UK. Buckingham Palace and the Met refused to comment last night, and it was clear Scotland Yard had been caught unawares by the Canadian statement.
Scotland Yard is already carrying out a full review of security for the duke and duchess.
A joint committee made up of the Home Secretary, the Met's royalty protection command chief, and palace officials are assessing whether their 24-hour protection should continue.
Mr Davies has estimated the bill will exceed £1million a year for their close protection team and extra uniformed police required on engagements.
He said the cost of each officer will reach £100,000 for salary, overtime, overseas allowance, pensions, flights and accommodation.
Harry is in the UK completing his last official engagements as a senior royal, and will be joined by Meghan next week. Today he will record a charity single for his Invictus Games Foundation with rock star Jon Bon Jovi at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Prince Harry was seen carrying his own suit through Edinburgh Waverley earlier this week (left) after arriving with his team (right). The team are believed to be part of his UK security team that is funding by the UK taxpayer
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