Révélé: Le prince Harry et Meghan Markle ont coûté aux contribuables canadiens 539 000 $ pour la protection privée, dont 365 000 $ en un an seulement pendant qu'ils sortaient ensemble et 10 586 $ pour garder la duchesse pendant un week-end de filles

Newly disclosed records reveal that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle incurred a total of $539,000 in taxpayer-funded security expenses during their visits to Canada between April 2015 and March 2020. The figures include $365,000 spent in a single year while Harry was dating Meghan and $10,586 allocated for protection during the Duchess’s private trip to Toronto in 2018. These revelations come from documents obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) through a six-year legal battle to access information under the Freedom of Information Act. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) data shows that the cost of securing Harry, then a working member of the royal family, was the highest among all VIPs visiting Canada during this five-year span. This expense exceeded the security costs for notable figures such as the Obamas, the Clintons, and the Trumps. Overall, Harry accounted for more than 10 percent of the $5 million spent on protecting approximately 100 royals, politicians, diplomats, and their families during their stays in Canada. The peak annual security cost for Harry occurred in 2017–18, the year he proposed to Meghan, who was filming the final season of Suits in Toronto. That year alone, the cost reached $364,859. In contrast, the previous year, 2016–17, when Harry and Meghan first met and began their secret romance, the cost was significantly lower at $106,000. The security bill for Harry far surpassed the $178,584 spent on protecting his father, then-Prince Charles, during his visit to Ontario and Quebec with Camilla in 2017. The RCMP attributed the bulk of the $539,000 in security costs to Harry, despite the couple having multiple visits to Canada during the period covered by the documents. A specific entry in the RCMP accounts details $10,586 spent on protecting Meghan during her private three-day trip to Toronto in August 2018. The trip was taken with her former best friend, Jessica Mulroney, and is believed to be the only visit Meghan made to Canada during that financial year. The two women had become close during Meghan’s seven-year tenure filming Suits in Toronto, with Mulroney often credited for influencing Meghan’s fashion choices. However, their friendship reportedly soured after Mulroney faced backlash in June 2020 from a Black influencer who accused her of discriminatory behavior. The security costs for the Sussexes declined sharply after they married and relocated primarily to the United Kingdom. During the 2018–19 and 2019–20 fiscal years, the combined security costs amounted to just $866 and $904 respectively. However, these figures rose slightly to $56,405 in 2019–20, likely due to brief visits to Canada after their decision to step back from royal duties, known as “Megxit.” Harry and Meghan temporarily moved to Vancouver in early 2020 before relocating to California on what Harry referred to as their “freedom flight,” a journey marked by a video shared with Netflix. They described the move as a period of newfound privacy, with Meghan noting how much she appreciated the time away from the public eye. The RCMP records indicate that the majority of the security expenditures were tied to Harry’s visits to Canada, particularly those involving his work with the Invictus Games and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. One documented visit took place in 2017 and 2018, during which Harry participated in a week-long trip to Toronto focused on these initiatives. The documents highlight the extent of Harry’s engagement with Canada, where he has maintained strong ties through both personal connections and royal obligations. The release of these figures underscores the significant financial impact of high-profile visits by members of the British royal family on Canadian taxpayers. As discussions continue regarding the role and responsibilities of the monarchy in modern society, these numbers provide further insight into the economic implications of such engagements.