According to a Mail Online report, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who will have to pay for their new security arrangements now, are hiring former SAS soldiers to replace their Scotland Yard bodyguards. The couple has narrowed it down to two firms, who have guarded A-list Hollywood stars including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Madonna, and the Ecclestone family.
The report comes after US President Donald Trump warned that they will have to pay for their own security now and it won’t be provided by the government. The couple have moved to California, where they are staying with 10-month-old son Archie.
“I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection.
They must pay!” the POTUS tweeted on Sunday. A representative of the couple later clarified that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not planning to seek free security from the US government.
“The Duke and Duchess have no plans to ask the US government for security resources. Privately funded security arrangements have been made,” the representative said.
According to The Sun, the couple has decided to hire a private security team that will charge around 400 pounds a day per guard, and the annual bill is expected to be up to 4 million pounds.
Though their representative insisted that they would be paying their own bills, the report claimed that Harry’s father Prince Charles may also make a “private contribution” of up to 2 million pound from his personal funds for a year while the couple achieves financial stability.
After finishing their final royal engagements in the UK, Harry and Meghan moved to California from Canada just before the borders were closed in wake of the rapid spread of coronavirus. The couple signed off from their Sussex Royal Instagram account, promising that they would be finding new ways to contribute to the community.
The parents-of-one who ceased to be working royals on Tuesday have not yet revealed their new profession to become financially independent, though there are speculations of the former actress making a return to the entertainment industry as a voiceover artist.