Nearly 340,000 euros.
This has already cost British taxpayers the legal battle between Prince Harry and the British Ministry of the Interior.
The youngest of Charles III has, in fact, launched legal action in September 2021 to be able to benefit from police protection when he goes with his wife Meghan Markle and his two children to the United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex further assures that he would pay for these expenses out of personal money, and insists that his family needs 24-hour protection. And this, although royal security is automatically put in place. for official events as well as around Frogmore Cottage, their English residence, and Windsor Castle.
In video, "Silence is betrayal", says Prince Harry in an interview
For some, enough is enough.
"To expect protection provided by the state is arrogant and irrational," criticizes John O'Connor, former commander at Scotland Yard, who speaks in the columns of the
Sun
on Sunday February 19.
It's just vanity anyway.
He only wants protection because he thinks his importance is devalued without it."
However, the British do not seem to share this opinion.
According to a YouGov poll, analyzed by the
Daily Mail
on Monday, February 20, more than half of citizens believe that Harry should indeed benefit from police protection when he comes to the United Kingdom.
37% also say they are in favor, but on the condition that the prince - now exiled in the United States - pays the security costs himself.
Finally, 28% are categorical: for them, nothing justifies that the Sussexes have security personnel.
The “extremist and neo-Nazi” threats
As a reminder, the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle left the United Kingdom in 2020 and settled in California.
There, they enjoy private protection, but Harry argues that they cannot access the information needed to be able to keep his family safe on British soil.
By ceasing to be working members of the Royal Family, the Sussexes have effectively lost the law enforcement protection afforded to them at the expense of the British taxpayer.
Expenses that Harry had therefore quite logically offered to take care of.
He is now contesting in court the refusal which was opposed to him by the Ministry of the Interior.
Scandals
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle now live in Montecito, near San Barbara, with their children Archie and Lilibet.
The latter has, moreover, to date, never set foot on British soil, to the chagrin of her father.
Problem: the situation is too dangerous, given the "extremist and neo-Nazi" threats that regularly weigh on the Sussexes.
Prince Harry says his safety has already been compromised due to the lack of police protection.
This was notably the case on June 30, 2021 when he left a charity event.
After an encounter with sick children, his car was chased by paparazzi in London.
Prince Harry's last visit to the UK dates back to September 2022. He and his wife Meghan Markle landed in England to attend a series of charity events.
However, their plans had been turned upside down with the death of Elizabeth II.
The couple is now expected in London on May 6, on the occasion of the coronation of Charles III.
The mystery remains as to his participation.
In video, the trailer of the interview granted by prince Harry to ITV