The final Megxit
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a last minute dash across the border from Canada to the US to start their new life in Los Angeles.
They took a private jet to California with their ten-month-old son Archie just before nonessential travel between the two countries was suspended last week because of the pandemic.
Harry and Meghan have long planned to set up in the duchess’s home state, where her mother Doria lives – but were forced to bring plans forward because of the outbreak. They leave behind their borrowed £10million mansion on Vancouver Island to join their team of Hollywood agents and publicists, who they have hired to launch their new careers.
Harry and Meghan’s exact whereabouts is unknown, but it has been reported they are ‘locking down’ in an exclusive gated community in LA. The move, which comes shortly after Canadian authorities said they would no longer contribute to the cost of the couple’s security, has fired up the row over who should foot the bill.
The Sussexes insist they are still entitled to taxpayer-funded security abroad – provided by the UK’s Met Police to the tune of millions of pounds a year. But critics point out the family is tying up valuable resources at a time when Britain needs every officer deployed in the battle against coronavirus.
The move to North America has paved the way for the couple to have their own armed private security team.
Last night Dai Davies, former head of royalty protection at Scotland Yard, said: ‘It is time for them to cut the strings. Surely now is the opportunity for the Met to say enough is enough, pay for your own security and relinquish our officers because the Met needs them back in Britain helping their colleagues in London.
‘We are in the grip of a national emergency and the Met is so desperate it is asking retired officers to come back. And what are Harry and Meghan doing? Flying straight into the worst affected country, while Harry’s father is ill, his grandparents are elderly and at risk and the country is in lockdown. The timing of this is unbelievable.’
The move is likely to spark a fresh review by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), which is made up of the Home Office, the Met Police’s royalty protection command and palace officials. Ultimately, the decision on whether the couple should be stripped of their taxpayer-funded security would be in the hands of the UK’s Home Secretary.
Meanwhile the move to Hollywood will also have serious personal and financial implications for the couple. Harry cannot automatically become a US citizen by marriage – rather, Meghan will have to go through the formal process of petitioning for him to receive a ‘permanent lawful residency’, known as a Green Card.
Harry will be eligible to apply for full US citizenship in three years – but there is one stumbling block.
One question asks: ‘Do you now have, or did you ever have, a hereditary title or an order of nobility in any foreign country?’
If the answer is ‘yes’, the applicant is then asked if they are willing to give up those titles at a ‘naturalisation’ ceremony. Harry will then have to decide whether or not to relinquish his Duke of Sussex title.
The pair will also have to deal with complex tax issues. California is the highest tax state in the US, with an income tax rate of 13% and federal tax rate of 37.
As the Sussexes continue to build their top team, it yesterday emerged they have poached one of Bill Gates’ senior staff to lead their new charity, Catherine St-Laurent. No doubt, Bill was not amused.