COPS policing Harry and Meghan’s four-month jaunt to Canada complained “this is costing us huge”, recently released police files revealed.
The Duke and Duchess cost Canadian taxpayers $56,384 in expenses, travel and accommodation for Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RMCP) for two months.
The couple moved to Vancouver with one-year-old Archie in November last year and stayed in an £18million waterside mansion before leaving for Los Angeles in March.
The bill does not include wages and only covers eight weeks of the couple’s four-month stay in their £21million waterfront mansion.
Emails released to campaigners in Canada show The Met – who provided close security for the couple – told local authorities about their royal guests only after they had arrived on November 18.
Their presence was only made public in early January and they initially planned to stay “part-time” in Canada, according to emails by police.
The documents revealed costs excluding wages and overtime reached $56,384 from mid-November to middle of January.
But police estimated the cost to locals could reach as high as $32,984.88 (£19,241) a month – or £600 a day.
Figures for February and March have not been revealed.
In an email, released following a freedom of information request, National Commanding Officer Bernadine Chapman wrote on January 10: “Media is on this like a hot potato…so lots of coverage of the potential of the royals to spend half their time in Canada now, as an independent couple.
“Media spin is about to cost Canadians.
“We are having a greater conversation next week on the go forward on this.
PROTECTIVE PRESENCE
“This has a potential to cost us huge.”
Eight days later Megxit was announced and it was revealed the couple would no longer be senior royals.
Met Police continued providing close security for the couple until the arrangement ended when they moved to California.
They are now living in $18million mansion owned by Hollywood producer Tyler Perry and are funding their own security arrangements – with Prince Charles expected to pick up the bill out of his private funds.
At the end of February, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would remove couple’s right for local cops after they stepped down as senior royals and no longer had International Protected Persons status.
But RCMP protection officially finished when the couple left for Los Angeles on March 14 just days before the border between USA and Canada was closed due to Covid-19 lockdown.
In emails released to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, cops complained:
“There is no indication of either the Duke or Duchess participating in any official capacity for the Crown in Canada in the next two months.
“The RCMP informed the Met that it would be discontinuing its protective presence.”
More than 80,000 Canadians signed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation petition asking the government to not pay for their policing costs with taxpayers’ money.
Aaron Wudrick, Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said: “More than $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consider the fact that this is taxpayers’ money covering bills for one of the most famous and wealthy couples in the world.
“Had the government not cut them off and had Meghan and Harry stayed in Canada, the bill could have easily turned into millions.
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