Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were criticized as “arrogant” for assuming they would maintain real security after fleeing the UK – which would have cost taxpayers about $ 5.5 million a year, according to the former police officer real.
“It shows your naivety and sense of entitlement,” retired retired chief superintendent Dai Davies, who headed the UK’s royalty protection unit, told the Daily Mail.
“It was just arrogant to assume that they and their baby would receive protection.”
The couple complained in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey about the loss of their real security detachment, with Harry saying it came “short term” and that is why they rushed their move from Canada to California after Tyler Perry offered security along with your mansion.
But astronomical security costs were one of the first points of contention days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were leaving royal duties – especially after they boasted that they would be “financially independent”.
It also sparked diplomatic discussions, with Canadians outraged that they also had to pay millions for it – and President Donald Trump adamant that the U.S. would not help when the Sussex moved to California.
Davies said he was “amazed” that the couple expected taxpayers to keep paying.
“It was totally unrealistic to think that they could continue to have their real 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 royalty in the United States as part of a “reciprocal agreement” for “occasions like official state visits”.
“But British officials could not simply continue to work there, without being able to carry firearms and without access to the integrated intelligence of the security services,” he said. “It was impractical.”
Concerns that already exist in Canada – where the government said it would stop helping with security “according to its change in status” – were heightened when the Sussex moved to California, celebrity bodyguard Russel Stuart told Mail.
“This is America. We are a nation of gun owners … California is a much bigger place, it’s more dangerous, ”the former California State Guard officer told the agency.
“You have a lot more potential threats than in Vancouver.”
