Could this be the reason why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose not to return to England for the holiday season? Saturday January 15, 2022, the Mail on Sunday revealed that the Duke of Sussex has launched legal action to have his police protection restored for him and his family when they return to the UK. The question is not financial, since the couple say they are ready to pay for their protection… But why such an action, if the Sussexes are already paying for their own safety in California, where they have been living for almost two years ?
The problem concerns the fact that private security guards do not have access to British intelligence services. The safety of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their two young children (Archie and Lilibet, 2 years and 7 months) cannot therefore be fully assured. As AFP reported, quoting a legal representative of the Duke of Sussex, the latter wants to take his children to his native country but he and his family “can’t go home“Because it’s too dangerous.”Prince Harry inherited a lifelong security risk at birth. He remains sixth in line to the throne, has served two combat missions in Afghanistan and in recent years his family has come under extremist and neo-Nazi threats..”
When Prince Harry first returned to England in April 2021, to attend the funeral of his grandfather Prince Philip, Scotland Yard officers tracked him down at Heathrow Airport. Procedure which was not applied during his second trip in July, when he had found his brother William to inaugurate a statue tribute to their mother Diana in Kensington Gardens. Prince Harry then came alone, since his wife had just given birth to their second child (who has therefore not yet met his paternal family).
During this summer stay, the Duke of Sussex could therefore only count on his private security guards. Still according to his representative, “his safety had been compromised due to lack of police protection when he left a charity event“. On June 30, after a meeting with sick children, his car was chased by paparazzi in London. Prince Harry’s legal action, launched discreetly last September, therefore aims to have a decision of the Home Office Her grandmother Queen Elizabeth would know, according to the Mail on Sunday.
My family literally cut me off financially
The question of the safety of the Sussexes has been debated since their departure from the British monarchy. This subject was at the heart of the “Sandringham summit” convened by Elizabeth II in January 2020, with Prince Charles, William and Harry. The Sussexes then went to Canada, then to the United States: if his government paid for the security of Meghan and Harry, as a member of the Commonwealth, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally announced that his government would not pay more. Donald Trump had refused any help to the Sussexes when they arrived in the United States.
During their truthful interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast on American television in March 2021, Prince Harry lamented the lack of support from the royal family and said: “I was told off the cuff that security was going to be removed… Their rationale is a change in status, which I countered and said, ‘Well, is there a change in threat or risk ?’ And after several weeks of waiting, I finally got confirmation that no, the risk and threat did not change but it was due to our status change, since we would no longer be official active members of the Royal Family (…). My family literally cut me off financially and I had to pay for our security.“Security largely paid for by the juicy contracts the Sussexes have signed since arriving in California.