PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are facing more pressure to foot their £8million security bill as 90 per cent of Brit and a former minister ask ‘why should we foot bill?’
From Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer be working royals and will not be allowed to use their HRH titles as they plan to become “financially independent”.
The couple have moved from their £10.7million mansion they were borrowing in Vancouver, Canada with 10-month-old Archie to Los Angeles – which has become a coronavirus pandemic hotspot.
Their security bill, which includes nine highly-skilled British officers ferrying between the UK and US, is believed to rack up as much as £8million a year.
It is understood it is covered by British taxpayers through the Met Police budget, and they have also received support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
A poll for Good Morning Britain from before they fled to LA suggested more than 90 per cent of the British public believe Meghan and Harry should be paying the bill themselves.
Since the beginning of Megxit talks, the Sussexes have been adamant on wanting to “stand on their own feet”.
There are already contracts in the pipeline, including Disney.
Norman Baker, former Home Office Minister and author of And What Do You Do?: What The Royal Family Don’t Want You To Know, told The Mail On Sunday: “They’re going to Los Angeles in order to make packets of money.
“There will be waterfalls of dollars cascading their way. And they’re now private citizens. Why should we pay for them?
“We can’t have a situation in which members of the Royal Family can choose to live anywhere in the world, however dangerous, and expect us to pay.
“The dangers in LA are much more significant than in the backwoods of Windsor.”
The couple’s bombshell move to LA — dubbed Megxit 2 — has “stunned and horrified” members of the Royal Family.
They believed that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, would consider returning to Britain to help their relatives.
A royal insider told HOAR: “Harry and Meghan have left Canada now for good. The borders were closing and flights were stopping. They had to get out.
“But this move was planned for some time. They realised Canada would not work out for various reasons and they want to be based in the Los Angeles area.
“They have a big support network there. It’s where their new team of Hollywood agents and PRs and business managers are based. Meghan has lots of friends there and, of course, her mum Doria.”
News of the shock move came as US entertainment giant Disney yesterday pushed ahead with the release of a charity film about elephants, for which Meghan provides the voiceover.
The deal is believed to have been done after Harry cornered the company’s boss Bob Iger at the premiere of The Lion King in London last year.
Disney sources said the release had been long planned to coincide with Earth Month, which begins next Wednesday and was not changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The film will raise money for the charity Elephants Without Borders.
Our sources say the arrangement is another indication of where the couple see their priorities going forward.
The royal insider explained: “For Meghan, this type of work is going to be coming out of Hollywood going forward.
“She feels comfortable there around her people and has projects already planned like her children’s book.”
