Harry and Meghan’s security to be cut off in ‘coming weeks’
TORONTO — Canada has been helping London’s Metropolitan Police provide security to Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, “intermittently” since November, officials acknowledged Thursday for the first time — but the assistance will stop in the “coming weeks” as the couple step back from their roles as senior royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced last month that they intend to cut most of their ties to the royal family, to pursue financial independence and to live at least part time in Canada. The couple and their infant son, Archie, have been staying at a secluded $14 million mansion in a gated community on Vancouver Island, where they spent their Christmas holidays.
Canadians have been largely indifferent to the arrival of the royal couple. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has faced repeated questions about who will foot the bill for the family’s security.
It had offered little in the way of details until Thursday.
“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 office of Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a statement. “The [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] has been engaged with officials in the U.K. from the very beginning regarding security. As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognized as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis.”
Harry and Meghan are slated to scale back their official duties on March 31. After protracted negotiations with Buckingham Palace, the couple agreed last week to abandon the “Sussex Royal” branding they have used to promote their online presence and to withdraw any trademark applications on the name.
“In keeping with their change in status,” Blair’s office said, the security assistance will “cease in the coming weeks.”
While the announcement was likely to be cheered by Canadians, it appeared to contradict previous statements by Blair about the family’s security and who is paying for it.
He told reporters at a Liberal Party Cabinet retreat in Winnipeg last month that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was “not engaged” in providing security services for the royal family “right now.”
On Thursday, Blair said “that was the information I had at the time.” But following “subsequent discussions” with the Metropolitan Police, he said, the RCMP have been “intermittently assisting” in providing security.